Heavy rains started in mid-July and continued in many areas of Myanmar, resulting in flooding of many villages and towns. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
Many villages are still completely under more than a meter of water. In some cases the water rose to about 3 meters high, completely covering huge areas. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
According to the government’s figures as of August 15, more than a million people are affected, with close to 100 deaths. Floods have caused 12 of 14 the country’s regions to be in difficulty. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
Many families in the affected areas have been displaced and took temporary refuge in monasteries, school and government camps. An estimated 15,000 houses have been destroyed. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
Roads have suffered damage, some hospital needed to evacuate patients due to rising water and some schools have suffered heavy damage. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
The houses of the people living in the areas where the water started to recede now find their home full of mud or sand, up to a meter of it in some cases. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
Staff and volunteers have been working relentlessly for the last week to provide relief assistance to people in remote regions of Myanmar. /Photo credit: Myanmar Red Cross Society
Heavy rains started in the nation of Myanmar in Southeast Asia in mid-July and continued in many areas of the country, resulting in the flooding of villages and towns, as well as thousands of acres of farmland. According to the government’s figures as of August 15, more than a million people are affected, with close to 100 deaths. Floods have caused 12 of 14 the country’s regions to be in difficulty.
Nicolas Verdy of Montreal is the operations coordinator for the the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) for
the Asia-Pacific region, and is normally based in Kuala Lumpur. Late last week he was called to Yangon, Myanmar to help the Red Cross team to produce a comprehensive plan of action and assist in organizing the response activities.
According to what Nicolas has learned, many families in the affected areas have been displaced and have taken temporary refuge in monasteries, school and government camps. An estimated 15,000 houses have been destroyed. Roads have been washed out, some hospitals needed to evacuate all patients, and schools have suffered heavy damage. “Most importantly, people’s lives have been turned upside down,” says Nicolas.
Volunteers in the field have told him of water rising up to three meters high, completely covering huge areas. Houses where the water has started to recede now find their home full of mud or sand, and latrines, often of poor structural quality, have been swept away. In many townships, water points where people collect drinking water have been contaminated.
“The acres of farmland that were inundated also translate into people losing their livelihood,” adds Nicolas.
The affected communities are now in urgent need of clean water, sanitation (latrines), and in general, help in rebuilding their lives. The Red Cross has issued Disaster Relief Emergency Funds to start the relief effort. An emergency appeal of has been launched by the IFRC to assist those most badly affected people in Myanmar.
The Red Cross plan of action is to assist 58,210 people, mainly though distribution of such non-food items as hygiene kits, tarpaulins, jerry-cans, mosquito nets, and other supplies, as well as provision of clean water, rehabilitation and construction of latrines and cash grants for affected families.
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