US provides $250,000 as emergency assistance for Cyclone Mocha recovery

The United States is providing $250,000 to assist Cyclone Mocha emergency relief efforts in areas most severely affected by the storm. 

"The people of the United States stand with the people of Bangladesh and the Rohingya refugees affected by the cyclone," said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, reads a press release.  

On 14 May, Cyclone Mocha moved through the Bay of Bengal making landfall in Burma and Bangladesh, affecting over nearly half a million Bangladeshis living in coastal areas of southeastern Bangladesh and almost one million Rohingya in refugee camps. 

The storm was one of the strongest in recent years causing significant tidal surges, heavy rain, and wind speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour in Bangladesh, resulting in widespread wind damage, flooding, and landslides.   

The United States has worked closely with Bangladesh to improve disaster preparedness and response over the past five decades of partnership, the press release added.

"Through the US Agency for International Development, the US government has built 900 multi-purpose disaster shelters in the most vulnerable areas of Bangladesh since 2001 and invested in early warning systems that keep hundreds of thousands of people safe from cyclones, flooding, and other emergencies," it further said. 

The United States is also the largest contributor to Rohingya refugee relief efforts.