Cyclone Mocha: Floods & communication blackout in Myanmar as 250 kmph-strong winds lash country, three dead

Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Relief workers struggling to assess the extent of the damage because the storm caused major disruption to communications.

With winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (155 miles per hour), Mocha struck between Myanmar’s Sittwe and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state in Myanmar, has been badly damaged due to Cyclone Mocha.

Extensive flooding have also been reported from low-lying areas, according to an update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

Myanmar’s military information office said the cyclone had caused damage in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu and Gwa townships.

The storm damaged houses, electrical transformers, cell phone towers, boats, and lampposts and was tearing the roofs off buildings.

At least three people have died in Myanmar.