FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

The cyclone predicted by an independent meteorologist to make landfall in Rakhine State on June 9 or 10, turned out to be a vortex. “It’s an upper tropospheric cyclonic vortex. So, it won’t be as strong as the cyclone I predicted forming in the ocean. It will move to the north from 3,000 to 18,000-feet above the ground. This is good news for people in Rakhine State. There won’t be another cyclone,” Win Naing told DVB. This news of another cyclone could have created a sense of panic among some families in Rakhine, Chin, Sagaing and Magway who’ve lost their homes and loved ones on May 14 and in the days following Cyclone Mocha’s impact. Since then, little to no humanitarian assistance has reached areas under military control. DVB reported last week that 163 bodies were recovered in Rakhine State alone. Win Naing changed his prediction on June 3 when he received an update that it was, in fact, a vortex and not another cyclone forming in the Bay of Bengal. Win Naing added that coastal communities can rest assured that the cyclone season is now over with the arrival of the monsoon in Burma.