Myanmar's displaced flee cyclone
- 11 years ago
With their bags packed, and a cyclone on its way, these residents are finally heeding the call to evacuate.
Most of the evacuees are Rohingya Muslims who have been camping in low-lying regions since ethnic and religious unrest last year.
The government planned to move 38,000 residents by Tuesday, but many initially refused to leave, suspicious of authorities' intentions.
As the winds picked up and destroyed their shelters, they packed their belongings.
The Rohingya are denied citizenship by the government in Myanmar and considered by many Buddhists to be immigrants from Bangladesh.
Even before the storm, the UN had said about 69,000 people in the western Rakhine State were living in accommodations at risk of flooding during the rainy season.
It warned last week there could be a humanitarian catastrophe if people were not evacuated.
Most of the evacuees are Rohingya Muslims who have been camping in low-lying regions since ethnic and religious unrest last year.
The government planned to move 38,000 residents by Tuesday, but many initially refused to leave, suspicious of authorities' intentions.
As the winds picked up and destroyed their shelters, they packed their belongings.
The Rohingya are denied citizenship by the government in Myanmar and considered by many Buddhists to be immigrants from Bangladesh.
Even before the storm, the UN had said about 69,000 people in the western Rakhine State were living in accommodations at risk of flooding during the rainy season.
It warned last week there could be a humanitarian catastrophe if people were not evacuated.