Description:
SITUATION IN MYANMAR:
1. Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, making landfall in Ayeyarwady Division
and directly hitting the country?s largest city, Yangon. 40 townships in Yangon Division and 7
townships in Ayeyarwady Division remain on the Government?s list of disaster areas....
2. Assessment teams have reported major damage in affected areas, particularly the low-lying delta
region, where the Cyclone?s impact was compounded by a storm surge. The official death toll
now stands at 38,491, with 27,838 missing. Unofficial estimates are considerably higher. Based
on the original Government figure of 975,858 persons affected three days after the disaster in the
eight most seriously hit townships, the UN now estimates that between 1.6 and 2.5 million people
may be severely affected....
3. Food, shelter, medical supplies and water are all critical needs. There is a growing risk of the
outbreak of disease among affected populations. The early rehabilitation of the agricultural sector
has also been identified as being crucial, as the affected area is central to Myanmar?s rice
industry. People have been migrating outwards from the most affected areas in search of basic
necessities. Early estimates suggest that temporary settlements may now be sheltering over
550,000 people in Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions. Agencies on the ground are in the process
of mapping the locations of these sites and the numbers of people in each. Damaged
infrastructure and communications, as well as flooding, pose serious logistical challenges for
relief efforts. Weather reports for affected areas in the coming days continue to be unfavourable,
with heavy rainfall predicted....
4. Relief flights continue to land at Yangon International Airport, and the Government and
humanitarian partners are reaching an increasing number of affected persons. However, the
levels of aid getting in to the country remain far below what is required to meet the needs on the
ground. There is also concern that a logistical bottleneck may be developing in Yangon.
Source/publisher:
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Date of Publication:
2008-05-15
Date of entry:
2008-06-03
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- Individual Documents
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Language:
English
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