[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Thousads Killed in Burma in Water F



By Deborah Charles 

BANGKOK, Sept 15 (Reuter) - Thousands have been killed in widespread flooding
across Burma over the past two months, and outbreaks of disease and crop
failures could bring even more deaths, aid workers and diplomats said on
Monday. 

The unusually heavy monsoon rains since late May have resulted in many
thousands of deaths, with whole towns being inundated or wiped out in
landslides, the sources who just returned from Burma told Reuters. 

They said one to two million people had been affected by the floods, and at
least 500,000 were driven out of their homes. 

``There is a lot of talk of bodies floating around. I didn't see that but I
saw lots of animal carcasses, which are polluting water supplies,'' said one
aid worker. ``Most of the water supplies are open ponds and with so many dead
bodies around these ponds ...it's going to pose a significant health
problem.'' 

He and diplomats said there is now the threat of major diseases, like
cholera, due to a lack of safe water. Health workers said there is about a 90
percent mortality rate from cholera in Burma due to a lack of medical
facilities. 

In a report obtained by Reuters on Monday, an international aid agency which
requested anonymity said nearly all of Burma's 14 states and divisions were
affected but the worst-hit areas were the central Pegu and Irrawaddy
Divisions and Mon State in the southeast. 

Up to 50 percent of the current rice crop is likely to be lost from the
flooding, aid workers said, which is expected to lead to a massive food
shortfall. 

The military government has not yet admitted the flooding is a serious
problem, diplomats said, and so has not addressed the resulting health
issues. Aid workers are not allowed to travel to many of the stricken areas
because they are off-limits. 

Government officials in Rangoon were not available for comment. There has
been little word of the flooding in official newspapers, but in August
officials said the flooding was the worst in almost 30 years in some areas. 

Some officials recently declined to give an estimate of damage caused by the
floods, saying it was difficult to compile data due to poor communications
and problems with the roads. 

But diplomats said the government had requested assistance through the United
Nations and several countries and organisations had responded. 

The Japanese Embassy in Rangoon said it had donated emergency relief
materials worth about $98,000. 

Most nations and international agencies stopped all aid to Burma after the
State Law and Order Restoration Council seized power in 1988. The governments
and organisations said the human rights situation had to improve before aid
resumed, although some humanitarian assistance has been provided on occasion.


A U.N. report said UNICEF and the World Health Organisation were providing
medical and other emergency relief supplies to the value of about $25,000
each, as requested by the Burmese Ministry of Health.