This Bank Holiday
Weekend, before you light up the barbeque and get ready with the
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just think!!!
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Emergency Disasters Fundraising
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Burma (Myanmar) Cyclone Nargis Disaster Appeal
Cyclone Nargis swept across Myanmar on
May 2 and 3, triggering a huge tidal wave and leaving
around 134,000 dead or missing, according to official
figures. But humanitarian agencies say the death toll
could soar without a massive increase of emergency food,
water, shelter and medicine to the Irrawaddy Delta.
The United Nations says up to 2.4 million survivors are
struggling to survive in Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta,
the worst affected area. More
details Watch
Myanmar aid relief video. |
32,000 people are still missing in China
12th May's 7.9 magnitude tremor, which
was focused in China's Sichuan Province, is estimated to
have killed at least 40,000 people — and that toll has
kept rising. In cities near the earthquake's epicentre,
rescue crews continue to sift through the rubble of
collapsed buildings in search of approximately 32,000
people who are still missing.
More details |
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Burma (Myanmar) Cyclone Nargis
Disaster
Cyclone Nargis swept across Myanmar on May 2 and 3,
triggering a huge tidal wave and leaving around 134,000 dead or
missing, according to official figures.
But humanitarian agencies say the death toll could soar without a
massive increase of emergency food, water, shelter and medicine to
the Irrawaddy Delta.
The United Nations says up to 2.4 million survivors
are struggling to survive in Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta, the
worst affected area.
The country's ruling generals, who have a deep mistrust of the
outside world, were slow to allow international aid flights to land
and have been reluctant to let foreign aid workers into the country.
The military government has now agreed to permit the World Food
Programme to airlift supplies into the delta and will allow in some
medical teams from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).
Myanmar state TV has reported that 77,738 are dead and 55,917
missing. Independent experts have said the figures are probably
higher, with British officials estimating the dead and missing at
around 200,000.
To put that in perspective, the colossal Indian Ocean
tsunami of December 2004 claimed around 230,000 lives.
Most of Myanmar's casualties were killed by a
12-foot (3.5 metre) wall of water that hit the low-lying Irrawaddy
Delta along with 190 kph (120 mph) winds. The dead include 10,000
who perished in just one town, Bogalay, 90 km (50 miles) southwest
of Yangon.
The cyclone is the worst to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people
died in Bangladesh. Myanmar's government has estimated the damage at
$10 billion.
The ruling generals insist their relief operation is running
smoothly, and say they've moved on to the reconstruction phase.
But aid agencies fear there could be a second wave of deaths caused
by diseases like cholera, dysentery and malaria. The U.N. World
Health Organisation says the peak threat from disease is 10 days to
one month after a natural disaster.
Those aid agencies which are operating in the country say they're
limited in where they can travel. Extensive flooding in the delta
and destroyed or damaged roads are also making it difficult to reach
survivors.
Diarrhoea, dysentery and skin infections have already afflicted some
survivors crammed into monasteries, schools and other buildings
after arriving in towns that were on the breadline
even before the
disaster. The United Nations says more than half a million people
may now be in temporary settlements.
The homeless are clamouring to get into privately run shelters
rather than government-run camps. In Bogalay, people have complained
of forced labour and low supplies of food at the state-run centres.
Frustrated by the speed of the official response, ordinary people
have sent trucks and vans into the delta with clothes, biscuits,
dried noodles and rice provided by private companies and
individuals. With almost total distrust of the government, private
aid is being left for distribution by Buddhist monks, who have
immense moral authority.
The authorities have said legal action will be taken against anybody
found hoarding or selling relief supplies, amid rumours of local
military units expropriating trucks of food, blankets and water.
There has been strong international criticism over the junta's
reluctance to let in outside help.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due in Yangon on Thursday and
may have a rare face-to-face meeting with junta supremo Than Shwe,
who had refused to take his calls after the disaster.
Ban has said aid workers have so far only been able to reach around
a quarter of those in need.
A donor conference is due to be held in Yangon on May 25.
The United States and France have naval ships equipped with aid
supplies and helicopters waiting in international waters off the
Myanmar coast, although Paris and Washington say they will not go in
without the green light from the generals.
Despite the cyclone, the junta went ahead with a referendum on May
10 on a new constitution - part of the army's much-criticised
"roadmap to democracy", and said 92 percent voted in favour. The
opposition and Western governments say it is a blueprint for the
generals
to cement their grip on power. Myanmar has been ruled by a
military junta since 1962. The referendum was postponed by a
fortnight in areas hit by the cyclone.
Some analysts have said the disaster could have political fallout
for the regime, which prides itself on its ability to cope with any
challenge.
U.N. chief to Myanmar:
focus on saving lives
YANGON, May 21 (Reuters) - U.N.
chief Ban Ki-moon began a mission on Wednesday for Myanmar's cyclone
victims, saying "our focus now is on saving lives", as the military
government gave approval for foreign helicopters to distribute aid.
The U.N. Secretary-General has said relief workers had so far been
able to reach only a quarter of those in need among an estimated 2.4
million people made destitute by the May 2 storm and sea surge that
left nearly 134,000 dead or missing.
"We must do our utmost for the people of Myanmar," Ban said when he
arrived in the Thai capital, Bangkok, before travelling to Myanmar
on Thursday. "Aid in Myanmar should not be politicised. Our focus
now is on saving lives."
The United Nations and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, are to convene
a donors' pledging conference in Yangon on Sunday.
Ban said he would meet the military government's Senior General Than
Shwe on Friday.
Than Shwe, who took two weeks after the disaster to meet victims and
see the destruction for himself, had declined to take Ban's phone
calls earlier in the relief effort.
Diplomats say the general's appearances in public in recent days
could be a sign the top brass finally realise the enormity of the
destruction and rebuilding from one of the worst cyclones to hit
Asia.
The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said the first of nine
helicopters granted permission to airlift supplies into the delta
would arrive in Yangon on Thursday from Malaysia.
"These
helicopters will provide critical life-saving capacity to bring
urgently needed relief supplies to cyclone victims deep in the
delta," spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok.
The U.N. says up to 2.4 million people are struggling to survive in
Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta, where refugees from the storm have
been begging for food from relief workers.
Yangon-based volunteer Ko Kyaw Khine said authorities in a village
he visited on Tuesday used loudspeakers on trucks to tell people not
to wait at the roadside because "begging from the donors tarnishes
the dignity of the nation".
DECLINES U.S. NAVY OFFER
Permission for the WFP helicopters is one sign the
junta is starting to make small but -- in the case of one of the
world's most closed countries -- unprecedented concessions to
foreign governments and relief agencies appealing for more access to
victims.
It has allowed aircraft from several countries, including its
fiercest critic the United States, to land in Yangon, but has
declined an American offer to send food and equipment from U.S. Navy
ships and helicopters in the region.
"We recognise that U.S. citizens by nature are generous and they
make generous donations to every region that has come under a
natural disaster," a commentary in the junta's main mouthpiece, the
New Light of Myanmar, said on Wednesday.
"However, the strings attached to the relief supplies carried by
warships and military helicopters are not acceptable to the Myanmar
people. We can manage by ourselves," it said.
The generals' distrust of outsiders is even greater after worldwide
outrage at last year's crackdown on democracy protests. U.N. sources
say they have consistently declined offers of Thai, Malaysian and
Singaporean military helicopters.
In
another sign the junta was taking the disaster more seriously, flags
across the former Burma flew at half mast on the second day of an
official three-day mourning period for the victims of the cyclone's
winds and sea surge, which destroyed villages and turned roads into
rivers of mud.
The government's official toll is 77,738 people killed and 55,917
missing, and it also estimates the damage to one of Asia's least
developed economies at $10 billion.
Until this week, the junta's attention appeared to have been on a
May 10 referendum on a constitution drafted by the army and intended
to precede multiparty elections in 2010. The vote was postponed to
May 24 in areas worst-hit by the storm.
Diplomats say the government's attitude, compared unfavourably with
neighbour China in dealing with the aftermath of a massive
earthquake, appeared to have changed just before Monday's emergency
meeting of ASEAN in Singapore."
You can help!
ERF is accepting donations to help children and families affected by cyclone Nargis.
Donations will provide immediate emergency relief to survivors and address
recovery needs in the coming days and weeks. DO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE,
please donate
generously. Click here
to make a donation on line.
Burma Cyclone Nargis Relief Update from BBC News:
New UN rights envoy visits Burma The new UN human rights envoy for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is making his first visit to the military-ruled country. | Burma aid effort 'requires $1bn' Relief and reconstruction work in Burma after Cyclone Nargis will cost at least $1bn, say the UN and regional body Asean. | Burma hits out at cyclone reports Burmese state media accuses both its citizens and foreign press of exaggerating storm devastation. | Comic arrested for Burma aid runs Burma's most famous comedian has been arrested after leading a private effort to deliver aid to cyclone victims. | 'Window of opportunity' in Burma A 'window of opportunity' for political progress in Burma now exists, a former UN official says. | Rice harvest under threat Farmers in areas affected by Cyclone Nargis need urgent help, or else Burma's rice harvest will fail, says the UN. | Resilience in pain The victims of Cyclone Nargis are displaying resilience and resignation - but many need supplies fast or they will die, say a BBC reporter in Burma. | Escaping Burma's Special Branch The BBC's Paul Danahar on being deported from Burma after reporting illegally on the aftermath of cyclone Nargis. | Burmese still struggling after cyclone Three months after Cyclone Nargis struck Burma's Irrawaddy Delta region, the BBC's Nga Pham went to see how residents are coping with the devastation. | Burmese blog the cyclone An overview of the Burmese news sites and blogs in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis. | Rangoon's hardship People in Rangoon have contacted the BBC News website explaining the hardship they face after Cyclone Nargis. | In pictures: Burmese mourning Burma declares three days of mourning after Cyclone Nargis. | Victims' tales seep through The BBC's Roland Buerk glimpses the suffering among Burmese victims of Cyclone Nargis. | Burma young 'starving to death' Thousands of children in Burma will die from hunger within weeks unless food reaches them soon, a UK charity warns. | Negotiating aid politics The BBC's Mike Thomson looks at aid agencies' attempts to bypass Burma's military leaders and bring help to cyclone victims. | Eyewitness: Barred from Burma The BBC's Nick Bryant reports from a US navy ship off Burma's coast which has been barred from delivering cyclone aid. | Who is helping on the ground The BBC looks at who is doing what to help the hundreds of thousands of victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma. | Burmese dodge junta to give aid People in Burma have had to find ways of bypassing the junta to deliver aid to victims of the cyclone in the southwest. | World is split on aid issue The international community is split over how to get aid to victims of the cyclone, as Burma's rulers drag their feet in accepting help, writes Jonathan Marcus. | Anger over junta's 'inadequacy' Frustration turns to anger in the cyclone-hit southern Burma over the junta's inadequate handling of the crisis, a BBC reporter says. |
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