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$4 Billion In Damages in Myanmar Cyclone Disaster!
"SINGAPORE - Myanmar needs at least $1 billion over the next three years to help rebuild the lives of survivors of Cyclone Nargis, a U.N.-led report said Monday in the first comprehensive assessment of the damage caused by the disaster that killed more than 84,000 people.
The May 2-3 cyclone caused an estimated $4 billion in damage, said the report prepared by the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Myanmar's military junta. Damage to assets was estimated at $1.7 billion and loss of income at $2.3 billion.
The cyclone devastated large swathes of the Irrawaddy delta and the Yangon region, killing at least 84,537 people and leaving 53,836 others missing and presumed dead, according to the junta.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the three parties involved in the report are seeking at least $1 billion in international aid for humanitarian relief efforts alone over the next three years to deal with "a tragedy of immense proportions."
"The task ahead is clearly enormous and will take a lot of time, a lot of effort," Surin told a news conference, flanked by the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries and the U.N. humanitarian chief, John Holmes.
ASEAN helped facilitate contacts between international donors and Myanmar's military junta, which had initially refused to allow in foreign relief workers. The junta had also insisted on full control over international relief, holding up delivery for weeks while survivors waited in desperate conditions.
At a donor conference after the cyclone, participants demanded full access to storm-hit areas and an independent assessment of aid to ensure it was not being wasted or stolen.
"Both of those things are in place," Holmes said. "It is important to have a report of this quality to assure donors that resources are being well spent ... and that future assistance is fully justified," he said, appealing to donors to "continue to be generous."
U.N. short on aid request
He said the U.N. had appealed for $482 million in immediate assistance but is still short $300 million.
The report paints a dismal picture of the devastation caused by the cyclone, saying it is expected to wipe out about 2.7 percent of Myanmar's projected gross domestic product in 2008.
The storm destroyed 450,000 homes and damaged 350,000. About 75 percent of health facilities were damaged, as were 4,000 or more schools.
About 1.5 million acres of farmland and 60 percent of agricultural implements were destroyed, it said. In mid-June, 55 percent of survivors had enough food for only one day or less.
"We have tired to wipe some tears, soothe some aching hearts ... but not all," Surin said. Failure to provide them aid over the long term "will be detrimental to the very survival of the victims," he said.
Report avoids issue of junta's response
The report does not mention the junta's limited action in the first week after the disaster which drew worldwide criticism. Pictures of bodies floating in the water amid reports that soldiers were standing by idly horrified people around the world. The junta also was criticized for failing to accept international aid quickly and even physically preventing it from going to the hardest-hit areas.
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, who chaired the news conference, refused to allow a reporter's question to Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win about whether the junta felt that many lives could have been saved had it acted differently.
Yeo said that while "political questions" are relevant, the news conference was only about the assessment report.
ASEAN experts said the cyclone-hit area remains in a state of emergency.
"People live in a very precarious condition now. If we fail to sustain the recovery efforts, they may face a second emergency," said Puji Pujiono, a recovery assessment specialist in the ASEAN team." "SINGAPORE - Myanmar needs at least $1 billion over the next three years to help rebuild the lives of survivors of Cyclone Nargis... more -
UN to end Myanmar aid flights
The UN is to end aid flights to Myanmar at the beginning of August.
The UN said on Saturday that it was a routine step as the country shifts to rebuilding homes, buildings and schools destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.
The May cyclone devastated much of the region south of Yangon, killing 85,000 people and leaving 50,000 missing.
The announcement came as the country, formerly known as Burma, held a downgraded ceremony marking Martyrs' Day, commemorating the killing of General Aung San, the father of the detained head of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) said that they had been told by the government not to hold the usual ceremonies, such as giving meals to monks.
'Forced relocation'
Soe Aung, from the National Council of the Union of Burma, an umbrella group for Myanmar's opposition, told Al Jazeera that resentment towards the military government has increased significantly since Cyclone Nargis.
UN plans to end its aid relief flights and scale back the help being given to Myanmar's victims will worsen the situation on the ground even further.
"It is very important that any aid operation in Myanmar should not stop at any stage because the people are still suffering.
"But more importantly the UN and international aid agencies [should focus on] the forced relocation or forced repatriation of the refugees, the cyclone victims in the area," Soe Aung said.
"Inside Burma, there are about 6,000 people who remain in three rehabilitation camps. They will be forced to move out early next month.
"The people are very angry in Burma because of the natural disaster but also the man-made disaster which is the military regime, the mismanagement, the mistreatment of the population, in ethnic and urban areas.
"Anger amongst the people is growing and the people may try to attempt to use any method to topple this regime." The UN is to end aid flights to Myanmar at the beginning of August. ... more -
'If we have guns we will shoot back'
Guardian reports from inside Burma on plans for a new uprising against the military regime, and hears some monks calling for more western intervention and an an armed insurrection. Guardian reports from inside Burma on plans for a new uprising against the military regime, and hears some monks calling for more west... more
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The real disaster in Burma
Ricky Gervais features in this video showing why "The Real Disaster In Burma is The Government".
In the wake of the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit Burma on 2 May, more than one million people are homeless, up to 128,000 killed. This natural disaster was turned into a man-made catastrophe by Burma's brutal regime. They blocked international aid and left thousands without food, shelter or medicine. The real disaster in Burma is the government. Ricky Gervais features in this video showing why "The Real Disaster In Burma is The Government". ... more -
A Clip from today's Myanmar Newspaper
My wife is coordinating the relief efforts in Myanmar and her team there just scanned this page from today's newspaper. It's sobering to see how the government is still trying to manipulate its people after they've been through so much. My wife is coordinating the relief efforts in Myanmar and her team there just scanned this page from today's newspaper. It's... more
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Burmese still lack aid a month on
A month after Burma was devastated by a cyclone, foreign aid agencies say a quarter of a million people have still not received any help.
Despite claims by the Burmese generals that the relief operation is now over, aid workers say there remains an urgent need to provide food, shelter, clean water and other basic aid. A month after Burma was devastated by a cyclone, foreign aid agencies say a quarter of a million people have still not received any he... more -
Myanmar cyclone: Burma 'to let in all foreign aid workers'
Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas. UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon made the announcement after meeting with Gen Than Shwe and 10 other junta officials in Burma's capital. Ban was there for what was called "a last-chance effort" to persuade them to accept much-needed aid and relief experts.
About 78,000 people died and 56,000 are missing after the 2 May cyclone. Ban called Gen Than's decision "a breakthrough."
Yesterday, Burma's junta told Ban that the first phase of relief effort is over. Ban took a "carefully managed tour" of the Irrawaddy delta yesterday to see for himself the damage caused by Cyclone Nargis. It was reported that Ban was taken to a well-managed relief camp, known by locals as a "happy camp." The visit was filmed by state run media, depicting scenes that sharply contrasted the reports from international aid agencies on the ground in Burma that the majority of the 2.4 million affected had yet to receive aid.
The international community remains skeptical about the junta's optimism about relief progress in Burma. Ban Ki-moon said he was "very upset" by what he saw during his tour, and encouraged Burmese not to lose their hope and courage. Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas. UN secretary ... more -
What a Disaster
A cyclone wallops Myanmar or Burma or whatever the hell else they're calling themselves these days and close on its heels, an earthquake rattles the fillings from a quintillion Chinese teeth. Both are totalitarian regimes, neither has a long history of doing much for their people as they float away of get crushed under rubble. A cyclone wallops Myanmar or Burma or whatever the hell else they're calling themselves these days and close on its heels, an ear... more
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Myanmar allows Asian neighbors coordinate relief
The government of Myanmar agreed Monday to allow the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations to coordinate international cyclone relief efforts in cooperation with the United Nations, according to Singapore's foreign minister, George Yong-Boon Yeo.
Myanmar also agreed at an ASEAN meeting to accept medical teams from ASEAN countries, several of which have already sent doctors. Yeo didn't say how the agreements would affect the way non-ASEAN aid is received and distributed, details that may be worked out in further negotiations. The government of Myanmar agreed Monday to allow the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations to coordinate international cyclone re... more -
Myanmar cyclone: Burma death toll jumps to 78,000
The official death toll for Burma's cyclone disaster has jumped to almost 78,000 people, with nearly 56,000 missing, according to state TV.
Previously, Burma was giving a toll of 43,000 dead and 28,000 missing while the Red Cross and United Nations had estimated a death toll above 100,000. Aid agencies are frustrated at the slow progress of aid to areas worst hit.
Cyclone Nargis battered southern regions of Burma, including the Irrawaddy Delta, on 2-3 May. A BBC reporter in the delta this week saw little sign of official help and foreign aid workers have been barred from the area. Heavy rain has been lashing the region, compounding the misery of survivors. The UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, John Holmes, is due to visit Rangoon, Burma's main city, on Sunday in a bid to persuade the military government to grant more access to UN relief workers and expand its aid effort. The official death toll for Burma's cyclone disaster has jumped to almost 78,000 people, with nearly 56,000 missing, according to... more -
Myanmar cyclone: Burma aid frustrations grow
Burma's prime minister said the emergency relief phase was finished, and rebuilding was beginning.
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Burma gets a new pro-military constitution
Burma's junta announced that their constitution has won overwhelming support in last week's referendum. Critics condemned the military regime for pressing forward with the vote while the country reeled from cyclone devastation that has killed thousands.
State-run radio report said 92.4% approved the constitution that critics say will cement military rule for nearly 4 decades. Their report also put voter turnout at more than 99 percent.
Meanwhile, 2.5 million people are in urgent need of water, food and shelter, according to UN officials, but Burma's government continues to greatly limit access to foreign aid workers. Burma's junta announced that their constitution has won overwhelming support in last week's referendum. Critics condemned th... more -
Burma cyclone: 130,000 may have died as second storm gathers
The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off the Burmese coast.
The organisation said that the toll may be 127,990, almost 30,000 higher than the figure estimated by the US embassy in Rangoon.
A further 2.51 million people have been left battling to survive the cylone’s aftermath with inadequate food, shelter or drinking water, the organisation said.
The threat of a second cyclone was once again ignored by the Burmese authorities, who have yet to alert the country.
An American government agency said: “The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is upgraded to good with the only limitation being temporary land interaction.”
Amanda Pitt, a United Nations spokesman, said that the “already weak” survivors would struggle to withstand a second battering, even though it is not expected to be as severe. The new storm would hamper “people’s ability to survive and cope with what happened to them ... This is terrible,” she said.
Residents of Rangoon - which some forecasts said would receive another direct hit - were aware of “bad weather” to come from foreign broadcasts, the internet and word of mouth.
In the Irrawaddy delta, where hundreds of thousands of ailing survivors of Cyclone Nargis are living in squalor, few have access to radio. The storm, if it arrives, will come without warning.
The new storm is not expected to be as strong as the last one — whose 120mph winds whipped up a 12 foot wall of water - but it is believed to carry an average month’s worth of rain fall. Heavy rains will further damage already broken roads and bring misery to unprotected survivors.
International agencies believe that at least 100,000 people were killed by Nargis, although the Burmese regime stands by a lower figure. Relief supplies from the United Nations and charities have so far reached only 270 000 survivors — a fraction of the total number. The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off... more -
Myanmar Day 2: Operation Blessing Brings Relief
MYANMAR (formerly Burma) - Operation Blessing International is one of the only international NGOs on the ground, bringing relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. In this first-hand report, OBI staff travel deep into a remote village to deliver rice and water purification tablets. MYANMAR (formerly Burma) - Operation Blessing International is one of the only international NGOs on the ground, bringing relief to th... more
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Some Myanmar Aid Reportedly Stolen
The directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid arriving into the country for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was being stolen, diverted or warehoused by the country’s military.
The United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there was a good chance that “a significant tropical cyclone” — a second big storm — would form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy Delta, the region that suffered most from the first storm that struck earlier this month.
In Yangon, the main commercial city, winds were already beginning to whip up Wednesday evening, but it was unclear how strong the storm would become.
Thailand’s prime minister Samak Sundaravej flew to Yangon on Wednesday to persuade Myanmar’s leaders to allow more foreign aid workers into the country. The members of the military junta told him they were in control of the relief operations and had no need of foreign experts, he told reporters after arriving back in Bangkok, The Associated Press reported.
The government said there were no outbreaks of disease or starvation among the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the cyclone. In Yangon, he met Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, The A.P. said.
The aid directors in Myanmar declined to be quoted directly on their concerns about the stolen relief supplies for fear of angering the ruling junta and jeopardizing their operations, although Marcel Wagner, country director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, confirmed that aid was being diverted by the army. He said the issue would become an increasing problem, although he declined to give any further details because of the sensitivity of the situation.
International aid shipments continued to arrive Wednesday, including five new air deliveries of relief supplies from the United States. Western diplomats said their representatives at the airport were making sure the cargo was unloaded efficiently and then trucked to staging areas.
The fate of the supplies after that, however, remained unknown, because the junta has barred all foreigners, including credentialed diplomats and aid workers, from accompanying any donated aid, tracking its distribution or following up on its delivery.
There were rumors in the capital on Wednesday that special high-energy biscuits donated for distribution in the disaster areas had been replaced by cheaper, off-the-shelf crackers. But Mr. Wagner and the others said they had not heard of high-quality foodstuffs being stolen and replaced by inferior products.
Although aid flights are now regularly seen arriving at the Yangon airport, international rescue teams and disaster-relief experts for the most part are being kept away from the country. A small French rescue team has arrived in Yangon, although it was unclear whether it had received official permission. Diplomats and representatives of aid missions said that visas for overseas experts were still being denied.
Mr. Wagner said he and his agency’s foreign staff members were now barred from the Irrawaddy Delta, even to areas where the group has ongoing projects dating from before the storm. Fortunately, he said, he has Burmese staff who are permitted come and go through an increasing number of military checkpoints. The directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid arriving into the country f... more -
Myanmar aid trickles in; EU warns of starvation
The 1.5 million people left destitute by Myanmar's cyclone are in increasing danger of disease and starvation, experts said on Wednesday, but its ruling junta said no to a Thai request to admit more aid workers.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej met his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein in Yangon for 2 ½ hours trying to convince him the former Burma should open up for international relief operations and ease visa rules for aid workers.
Early May's Cyclone Nargis swept through Myanmar's heavily populated Irrawaddy delta rice bowl, leaving up to 100,000 people dead or missing, and many of the survivors homeless and hungry.
International aid has amounted to little more than a trickle as Myanmar's generals resist efforts to open the floodgates to foreign workers and their operations and equipment.
Myanmar's prime minister "insisted that his country with 60 million people has a government, its people and the private sector to tackle the problem by themselves," Samak told reporters after returning to Bangkok.
"They are confident of dealing with the problem by themselves. There are no outbreaks of diseases, no starvation, no famine. They don't need experts, but are willing to get aid supplies from every country," Samak said.
Louis Michel, the European Union's top aid official, had a different view.
"There is a risk of water pollution. There is a risk of starvation because the storages of rice have been destroyed," he told reporters in Bangkok before flying to Yangon to seek better access for international aid workers and relief efforts. The 1.5 million people left destitute by Myanmar's cyclone are in increasing danger of disease and starvation, experts said on We... more -
UN warns second cyclone is forming near hard-hit Burma
A second cyclone was forming Wednesday near Burma, renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta, less than two weeks after it was devastated by a killer storm, the U.N. said.
The United Nations' weather center is tracking a nascent tropical storm that is likely to become a cyclone, said Amanda Pitt, the spokeswoman of the world body's humanitarian relief program, in Bangkok, Thailand.
"This is terrible," she told reporters, adding that it could further jeopardize the people who survived Cyclone Nargis on May 3 and the efforts to distribute aid for them.
She couldn't say when or where the cyclone would make a landfall, or when it would become a full-fledged cyclone, which is being monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, a part of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Center.
The center said on its Web site that "the potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is good."
It said "the circulation center (of the storm) is currently transiting generally northwestward across the Rangoon delta region of Burma, which refers to the Irrawaddy delta.
The same area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3, leaving more than 60,000 people dead or missing.
Pitt said if the cyclone warnings come true, the inadequate relief efforts for survivors of Nargis will be jeopardized.
"This is always a worry when you have further hazards affecting people," she said, adding that it "impacts people's ability to survive and cope with what happened to them."
"They are already weak. This is a great problem and impacts on how we can help people," she said.
The U.N. is leading the international relief effort, which is trying to supplement the Burma junta's aid delivery that has been criticized by aid groups and survivors as woefully inadequate.
Yet, the isolationist junta has refused to let international experts who have experience in managing humanitarian crises, saying it is capable of dealing with it on its own.
Meanwhile, some 2 million people are living in miserable conditions, many of them depending on rain for fresh drinking water, and meager food rations. Most water sources such as rivers and canals, which are littered with bodies and animal carcasses, are also contaminated by fecal matter and bacteria.
Aid agencies have warned that a humanitarian and medical catastrophe is building in the absence of a full-fledged relief program. A second cyclone was forming Wednesday near Burma, renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta, less than two weeks after it was deva... more -
Burma cyclone: Second storm gathering
A second cyclone is bearing down on Burma, as the country struggles in the grip of a humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis, which killed 100,000 and left 1.5 million in need of emergency aid.
The warning of a second devastating storm comes as survivors struggle to find enough food to stay alive after Cyclone Nargis hit earlier this month, leaving millions homeless.
The United Nations’ weather centre has identified a tropical storm in its early stages which is likely to become a cyclone, according to Amanda Pitt, spokeswoman of the UN humanitarian relief programme in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ms Pitt warned that a second cyclone would severely hamper deliveries of food, water and temporary housing to areas in dire need of relief.
She could not give any details about the likely size or location of a second cyclone.
But the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, part of the UN’s World Meteorological Centre said on its website that ‘the potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is good.’
It said the building storm was moving towards the same Irrawaddy delta region which was hit by Cyclone Nargis.
The Burmese junta has come in for heavy international criticism for its reponse after being slow to accept foreign aid, with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband accusing the regime of ‘malign neglect’.
UN planes carrying emergency supplies were first allowed into the country on Sunday after days of negotiation and a consignment of high energy biscuits from the World Food Programme was impounded, before being released by the regime.
Meanwhile, some 2 million people were left with very little food and water sources were contaminated by sewage, bodies and animal carcasses.
Aid agencies have warned that the lack of a full-blown relief programme could lead to many more deaths from disease and starvation.
Burma yesterday received its first consignment of aid from Britain, as part of a £5m UK aid package.
But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned that the food aid provided so far might only be a tenth of that required and said that rice stocks were nearly empty. A second cyclone is bearing down on Burma, as the country struggles in the grip of a humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis, whi... more -
More countries send aid to Burma
Relief material has been pouring into Burma from several countries in the aftermath of the killer cyclone Nargis which claimed thousands of lives and left over a million homeless. Singapore, Italy, Japan and Taiwan today airlifted relief material including medicines, food and tents for cyclone victims in Burma.
Aid materials including 160,000 tablets of water purifiers, 36 boxes of chocolates, and medicines from Singapore, USD 300,000 worth of food and other materials from Italy, and three metric tons of food from Taiwan were airlifted today.
On Wednesday, aid materials from India, Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh China, Japan and Singapore had arrived in Burma.
India sent two naval ships, and two aircrafts full of relief supplies, while Laos sent food worth USD 20,000. Taiwan also sent three metric tons of food.
While Thailand's aid material include drinking water and food, China sent construction materials that will be used for reconstructing houses that have been destroyed by the cyclone. Relief material has been pouring into Burma from several countries in the aftermath of the killer cyclone Nargis which claimed thousan... more -
Myanmar cyclone: British aid supplies reaching Rangoon
A first planeload of British aid supplies is due to arrive in cyclone-hit Burma in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as pressure grew for outside relief efforts to bypass the country’s military government through a direct “aid corridor” via air or sea.
The cargo plane, chartered by the Department for International Development, was expected to touch down at Rangoon airport with 35 tonnes of plastic sheeting for makeshift shelters.
British officials intend it to be handed to the United Nations for distribution to the flood-hit areas of the Irrawaddy delta area, although there were fears it could suffer the same fate as previous aid consignments and be held up by Burmese customs officials or even confiscated to be sold on the open market.
However, the British Ambassador, Mark Canning, was due to supervise the unloading personally. A first planeload of British aid supplies is due to arrive in cyclone-hit Burma in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as pressure g... more
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Myanmar Crisis
