Cyclone Mocha: Death toll rises to 81 in Myanmar

BY A STAFF REPORTER: According to local leaders and officials, the death toll in cyclone-hit Myanmar has risen to at least 81. On Sunday, winds of up to 195 kilometres per hour (120 mph) hit Mocha, knocked down power pylons and smashed wooden fishing boats into splinters. Local leaders said at least 46 people were killed in Bu Ma and nearby Khaung Doke Kar village in Rakhine state, which is dominated by Rohingya Muslims.

At least 13 people were killed when a monastery collapsed in a village in the town of Rathedong, north of Rakhine's capital Sittwe, and a woman was killed when a building collapsed in a nearby village. "Hundreds of people are missing," said Carlo, head of the village of Bu Ma near Sittwe. "