Benjamin Small, a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme, said it was hard to understand the scale of destruction because of ruptured communications in Rakhine.
“But with reported 250kmh winds making Cyclone Mocha one of the strongest in Myanmar on record and the worrying images online, it’s not looking good,” Small said on his Twitter account.
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis swept across parts of Myanmar with winds of 240kmh, killing nearly 140,000 people.
Since a junta toppled a democratically elected government two years ago, Myanmar has been plunged into chaos and a resistance movement is fighting the military on various fronts following a crackdown on protests.
A junta spokesperson did not immediately answer a telephone call from Reuters seeking comment.
The military has imposed internet shutdowns across parts of the country, including some areas in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin state, which was also in Cyclone Mocha’s path.
“There is significant overlap between the shutdown areas and the cyclone’s path, which is a major concern, as it’s hindering efforts to reach people,” said digital rights activist Htaike Htaike Aung.
In remote and hilly Chin, which has previously seen heavy fighting between the junta and the resistance, the areas the storm swept through is under a communications blackout since the coup, the Chin Human Rights Organization said.
“We have not yet been able to establish the extent of the devastation,” said the group’s deputy director Salai Za Uk Ling. “The storm itself is a trigger for more problems as heavy rains continue and landslides and flooding tend to follow.”