Myanmar / TC NARGIS (TC 01B) Update: 84,500 dead

[HurricaneRobert]

1936: Cyclone in April
Deaths: 1000

1965: Cyclone in October
Deaths: 100
Damage: $1 million

There must've been one between that since the article said it had been six decades. There's no mention in the city's Wikipedia article either, although it says Yangon was very prosperous back then. It's amazing that the military could completely ruin a country like that.

[CrazyC83]

Hopefully not a sign of another bad year in the Indian Ocean...

[HurricaneBill]

[quote=
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90ES3G80]"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."[/quote]

[Windspeed]

BBC has an update and new video from Burma:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7382298.stm

Looks like Cape Negrais probably experienced the worst. This video didn't appear to have any footage from Haing-Gyi, which would have been in the eastern eyewall at first landfall and the most likely place to experience extensive-to-catastrophic wind damage (if Negrais was actually stronger than a cat 3 at landfall). This might be trivial due to poor construction. Unfortunately, Chacor may not be too far off on the final death toll.

[senorpepr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13a3Ht3gIzo&NR=1

More video...

[Derek Ortt]

[quote=
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90ES3G80]"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

[/quote]

they should not be complaining about the lack of electricity. if they are, they should be sentenced to a month in Miami after any hurricane of strong cat 1 or greater

[Ad Novoxium]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90ES3G80]"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

What if Nargis does to Burma what Bhola did to Bangladesh in terms of government responce? Bangladesh broke from Pakistan following Bhola, so maybe following this, depending on government responce, the people may rebel against the junta and overthrow them.

[Chacor]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90ES3G80"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

they should not be complaining about the lack of electricity. if they are, they should be sentenced to a month in Miami after any hurricane of strong cat 1 or greater

Do you have any idea about the cultural and political situation on the ground? No. Do you have any idea about how life in Rangoon is? No. Then you have no bloody right to say they shouldn't be complaining.

[Chacor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7383573.stm

Burmese exiles are urging the country's military rulers to allow aid agencies to operate freely inside the country in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

They say their expertise will be vital as Burma attempts to recover from the cyclone, which killed more than 350.

Five regions have been declared disaster zones by the government, including the main city, Rangoon.

Meanwhile, state media says despite the cyclone, a referendum on a new constitution will go ahead on 10 May.

"The referendum is only a few days away and the people are eagerly looking forward to voting," the government is quoted as saying in a statement carried by state media.

Burma's leaders say the referendum will pave the way for multi-party elections in 2010, but critics say the charter is aimed primarily at further entrenching military rule.

The United Nations has said it is still waiting for the government to approve the start of relief efforts in the wake of the cyclone.

The Burmese regime is normally distrustful of outside influences.

The regional head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Terje Skavdal, told the BBC that his organisation was hoping to take relief supplies into Burma - with plastic sheeting for shelter, water purification tablets and cooking sets a priority.

He said Burma's deputy minister of social welfare had indicated that international assistance might be welcome.

"Hopefully that will mean that we in the next few days might be able to mobilise additional resources to support the victims of this situation."

Naing Aung, secretary general of the Thailand-based Forum for Democracy in Burma, said: "International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required.

"The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone."

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the country two days ago with winds of speeds reaching 190km/h (120 mph).

In Rangoon, roofs were blown off buildings and electricity supplies cut.

Shari Villarosa, the leading US diplomat in the city, said the storm had caused devastation.

"The Burmese are saying they have never seen anything like this, ever," she told the Associated Press news agency.

Rescue workers have yet to reach some of the worst-hit areas of the country, including the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region, which was also hit by a storm surge.

"The villages there have reportedly been completely flattened," said Chris Kaye, the UN's acting humanitarian co-ordinator in Rangoon.

Initial efforts to assess the situation had been hampered because roads were blocked with storm debris and telephone lines were down, he added.

State-run television reported that at least 162 people had been killed on Haing-Gyi island, off the country's south-west coast. About 20,000 homes have been destroyed on the island, and 90,000 people made homeless.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962, and the government stifles most dissenting voices.

It has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and the suppression of opposition parties such as the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.

Last September, at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained when the military suppressed anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks.

[Windspeed]

Looks like most of the footage is from Yangon, which of course experienced a much weaker storm than what is being reported from the Irrawaddy delta region. Still, Yangon is a large city that is not been hit directly by a cyclone in many decades. Certainly, it's been decades since they experienced real hurricane force winds. No doubt its public systems were not designed to deal with such an overwhelming situation.

As for the delta, it is troublesome to hear "villages there have reportedly been completely flattened" ... hopefully, the majority of residents in these locales managed to find adequate shelter some how.

[Derek Ortt]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90ES3G80"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

they should not be complaining about the lack of electricity. if they are, they should be sentenced to a month in Miami after any hurricane of strong cat 1 or greater

Do you have any idea about the cultural and political situation on the ground? No. Do you have any idea about how life in Rangoon is? No. Then you have no bloody right to say they shouldn't be complaining.

and neither do you, Chacor. Much less so than one has experienced the aftermath and has a perspective on things

I have lived through a hurricane aftermath Given your location, I doubt you have (yes, Vamei passed close but to your north). Crying about electricity is the last thing one should be doing as there are far greater concerns. Take this bit of advice from someone who experienced similar conditions to what Rangood did

[Chacor]

Do you have any idea about the cultural and political situation on the ground? No. Do you have any idea about how life in Rangoon is? No. Then you have no bloody right to say they shouldn't be complaining.

and neither do you, Chacor. Much less so than one has experienced the aftermath and has a perspective on things

I have lived through a hurricane aftermath Given your location, I doubt you have (yes, Vamei passed close but to your north). Crying about electricity is the last thing one should be doing as there are far greater concerns. Take this bit of advice from someone who experienced similar conditions to what Rangood did

You have not experienced similar conditions to what Rangoon went through, considering other political factors. You may have gone through the same thing weather-wise but conditions on the ground are different and you have no idea and are not able to pass comments on what they shouldn't be complaining about.

[Derek Ortt]

Looks like most of the footage is from Yangon, which of course experienced a much weaker storm than what is being reported from the Irrawaddy delta region. Still, Yangon is a large city that is not been hit directly by a cyclone in many decades. Certainly, it's been decades since they experienced real hurricane force winds. No doubt its public systems were not designed to deal with such an overwhelming situation.

As for the delta, it is troublesome to hear "villages there have reportedly been completely flattened" ... hopefully, the majority of residents in these locales managed to find adequate shelter some how.

Hurricane force winds in a city is never a good combination. We saw that in Orlando, New Orleans, and Miami/Lauderdale. Since Rangoon is not used to these types of winds, I would not be surprised if the damage was worse there than here.

[Derek Ortt]

keep the politics out of this.

There are far greater worries than a week without electricity after an impact like this

As for how long it takes to do a full cleanup... well... it likely will be years before a full cleanup is complete

[Chacor]

There are far greater worries than a week without electricity after an impact like this

As for how long it takes to do a full cleanup... well... it likely will be years before a full cleanup is complete

That is exactly my point. How is it that you're able to say they shouldn't be complaining about electricity, when they have a constitutional referendum on 10 May and to adequately conduct that, arguably the main need is electricity, no?

keep the politics out of this.

Ultimately, any time something like this happens in a place like Burma, or North Korea, or say Zimbabwe, politics will inter-twine with the recovery effort.

[wyq614]

It has gone from NRL, why not move the thread to the archive?

[HURAKAN]

Stricken Myanmar seeks international aid

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar's ruling military junta was expected to issue a rare request for international emergency assistance Monday as more details emerged of the scale of the humanitarian crisis facing the cyclone-stricken southeast Asian country.

The Associated Press reported that resident ambassadors had been summoned to a foreign ministry meeting after a state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm that left at least 350 people believed dead and swathes of devastation in its wake.

The government of neghboring Thailand said Myanmar's leaders had already requested food, medical supplies and construction equipment, AP reported. The first plane-load of supplies was due to arrive Tuesday, a Thai spokesman said.

Scenes of the destruction showed flooding, roofs ripped off buildings, uprooted trees and downed power lines after cyclone Nargis battered the Irrawaddy delta throughout Friday night and Saturday morning.

"After about noon, the sky cleared and everybody came out and were just stunned," said Shari Villarosa, U.S. Charge D' Affaires in Yangon. "People on my compound who had been there for about 15 years say they had not seen anything like this here, ever."

Residents of Yangon trudged through knee-deep swirling brown waters Monday as the delta city remained mostly without electricity and phone connections. Watch the cyclone hammer Yangon »

A spokesman for the Red Cross said the emergency aid group was working with its Myanmar agency to provide drinking water, temporary shelters and blankets and warned that urgent action was needed to limit outbreaks of disease.

"I think one of the biggest needs right now is to stave off disease," said spokesman Eric Porterfield. "We will be helping with the distribution of clean drinking water and setting up shelters."

Relief agencies met at the United Nations' Bangkok headquarters Monday to coordinate their response to the disaster. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had released 200,000 Swiss Francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath.

At least 350 people are estimated to have died as a consequence of the storm, according to state media reports. But there are fears that the full scale of the disaster may have been concealed by Myanmar's brutal authoritarian regime. The ruling junta under sharp criticism from many nations for using force to suppress pro-democracy protests last year. Learn more about Myanmar »

"They don't want to admit that they are incapable of taking care of their own people," Larry Jagan, a freelance journalist who has covered Myanmar affairs for many years, told CNN.

"So I think they will be slow in responding to international offers of aid. And the international community cannot, of course, move until there is some official statement from the government."

"We believe hundreds of people are dead," said Khin Maung Win with the Democratic Voice of Burma -- a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates. "The entire lower Burma is affected. In some areas, entire villages disappeared."

The activist group opposes military rule in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The ruling junta declared a state of emergency in five regions: the city of Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and the states of Karen and Mon. All flights to Yangon, the former capital, were canceled.

"Most Burmese with whom we've been in touch report they lost their roofs, although so far everyone we have been able to contact reports that they and their families are safe," said a Yangon-based diplomat who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Earlier Monday, an editor for an independent Myanmar newspaper based in Thailand told CNN that people in the Southeast Asian nation were angry over the response to the disaster by the ruling military junta.

"People are very angry with the slow response coming from the military government," said Aung Zaw of Irrawaddy news magazine.

Zaw said communication was down across large areas of the country. He also said the casualty figures could rise.

"Very few people have access to these areas to estimate damage and how many people have been killed." Listen to Irrawaddy journalist discuss the situation in Myanmar »

Pictures from inside the country showed a cyclone-ravaged region with tin huts crushed under trees. Bicyclists navigated around large branches that littered the deserted roads.

A man with his pant legs rolled up waded through knee-deep water and strained to clear massive limbs that were blocking the entrance to a house.

"The cleanup is beginning, but this will take a long time," the diplomat said. "The damage around town is intense." See photos of the destruction »

"Fuel is not easily available. International emergency assistance would be needed within seven days. There is no food for eating," Win said.

Food prices -- already rising steeply -- climbed further. Long lines could be seen at gas stations in Yangon. Many of the stations were operating on generators. At one gas station more than 100 buses lined up to refill.

"International emergency assistance would be needed within seven days," the diplomat said.

Despite widespread damage, Myanmar's junta plans to proceed with a referendum on the country's constitution on May 10 -- the fourth step of a "seven-step road map to democracy" -- according to state-run media reports.

The government has said elections would be held in 2010 to choose a representative government to replace the military junta.

An official at the Myanmar consulate in Canberra, Australia, said she believed the referendum would go on as scheduled. "We haven't had contrary information," she said.

But the announcement was met with skepticism from pro-democracy opposition leaders.

"It looks as though it would be impossible to have a referendum on Saturday in those areas," said Jagan, the analyst.


"The question is, will the regime decide to postpone the referendum in those particular areas, and hold it in other parts of the country?. Or will they go ahead and hold it anyway, and do the best they can?"

Myanmar last held multi-party elections in 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy handily won. The military junta ignored the results. Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

[Extremeweatherguy]

I just heard on CNN that there are now reported to be at least 4000 deaths!

[Chacor]

State-run TV is now reporting over 3,900 deaths with over 2,000 missing.

Edit: BBC World Service: reports that in one city alone, nearly 10,000 are dead - unconfirmed reports and cannot be verified.

[Chacor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7384041.stm

The death toll in Burma has reached nearly 4,000 people following a cyclone that hit the country on Saturday, state media say.

It says 3,969 people have been killed and almost 3,000 more are missing. Earlier on Monday, state media said the death toll stood at 351.

Five Burma's regions have been declared disaster zones.

Several hundred thousand people in the country are now in need of shelter and drinking water, the UN says.