UNICEF sends first pre-stocked relief supplies as Cyclone Nargis toll climbs
Chris Niles, UNICEF
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© Reuters
Flooded villages are seen in this aerial view near an airport in Yangon on May 5, 2008, after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's main city on Saturday, ripping off roofs, felling trees and raising fears of major casualties.
NEW YORK (May 6, 2008) — UNICEF Myanmar field staff have begun delivering emergency supplies to Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta as the death toll from Saturday’s cyclone continues to climb.
According to media reports, Myanmar's military government says nearly 22,500 people have died and about 41,000 are still missing. Most of the deaths reportedly came from the tidal wave that followed in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which hit the low-lying delta region with winds of up to 120 miles per hour.
UN officials have said 1 million people may be homeless as a result of the emergency.
Dire need for water, food, shelter
UNICEF staff members on the ground report widespread devastation and a dire need for water, food and shelter. UNICEF has provided Laputta township, one of the most severely hit, with essential drugs, first-aid kits and oral rehydration tablets to treat diarrhoeal dehydration. The supplies were airlifted via government helicopter.
© Reuters
A girl collects water on a street in Yangon, after a cyclone in the southwest region of the impoverished nation cut off basic necessities.
Assessment teams are working to identify needs and get essential aid to children and families in other cyclone-affected areas. With estimates of the death toll rapidly rising, UNICEF will work closely with other UN agencies, playing a lead role in the effort to provide basic needs, including water and sanitation, as well as ensuring that children are protected and their education is interrupted as little as possible.
"Children have lost families, friends, and their own homes have been destroyed, so it's a very frightening situation for children," said UNICEF Deputy Director of Emergency Programmes Kari Egge.
In the former capital, Yangon, the military government is attempting to restore electricity and water supplies. It has declared a state of emergency but so far has issued no visas to allow international UN staff to deliver aid supplies from outside the country.
"A lot of damage to infrastructure"
Cyclone Nargis, with winds of up to 120 miles per hour, struck on May 3, with little warning, razing towns and damaging tens of thousands of homes.
"We know that buildings have been damaged, roads have been destroyed, trees have fallen and a number of schools and health clinics have been destroyed. There’s quite a lot of damage to infrastructure," Egge said.
Yangon (formerly Rangoon), was battered for hours by fierce winds. Flooding is widespread and buildings badly damaged. Communications have been cut, roads are blocked and UN officials estimate that hundreds of thousands are without shelter and drinking water.
Determining immediate needs
UNICEF teams are making their initial assessments in Yangon, Pathein and Bago. Supplies such as water-purification tablets, food, emergency health kits and shelter materials will be urgently needed.
"UNICEF has pre-stocked supplies in parts of the country and these can be easily mobilized," Egge said. "Of course, it won't be enough. The latest figures are so high that we will… bring in additional supplies."
