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
Ayeyawady (Irrawaddy) delta region, where the Cyclone?s impact was compounded by a storm
surge. The official death toll now stands at 78,000 with 56,000 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 1.5 and 2 million people have been severely affected....
3. Food, shelter, medical supplies and water are all critical needs. There is a growing risk of an
outbreak of infectious 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.
Affected areas have experienced heavy rainfall in recent days, which is predicted to continue with
the onset of the monsoon....
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:
2008-05-16
Date of entry:
2008-06-03
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- Individual Documents
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Language:
English
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pdf
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