At least 800,000 people in Myanmar need emergency food aid and other assistance after Cyclone Mocha slammed into the conflict-torn country, the United Nations said Friday.
"The cyclone left a trail of devastation across Myanmar's Rakhine State, with houses flattened, roads cut off by uprooted trees, hospitals and schools destroyed, and telecommunications and power lines severely disrupted," Anthea Webb, the UN World Food Program's deputy regional director for Asia and the Pacific, told reporters in Geneva.
Touted as the second most intense cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1982, Cyclone Mocha landed on Sunday afternoon in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar and Myanmar's Rakhine state near Sittwe Township.
The wind speed exceeded 260 kmph along the coasts.
"Urgent needs include shelter, clean water, food assistance and healthcare services," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said, adding that the destruction of homes and infrastructure was widespread in Rakhine.
Meanwhile, many countries came forward to help Myanmar: India launched "Operation Karuna" to provide humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, and four ships carrying relief materials have reached Yangon.
On Friday, the United Kingdom will provide 2 million pounds in humanitarian support.