World Vision and Other Agencies Providing Help

May 6, 2008

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

The death toll from the tropical cyclone that slammed into Myanmar three days ago rose to 10,000, according to the military government, making the storm Southeast Asia's deadliest natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

According to a story by Demian McLean and Michael Heath and published by the Bloomberg News Service, about 3,000 people are missing in the Irrawaddy delta region alone.

Bloomberg reported that power was knocked out in the former capital, Yangon, and drinking water was contaminated in the city of 5 million people.

"At least eight townships are completely or mostly destroyed,"' said Pamela Sitko, a worker with the U.S.-based Christian relief group World Vision, who has spoken with colleagues in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

According to the World Vision web site, the government of Myanmar has invited World Vision to provide assistance in the form of zinc sheets, tents, tarpaulins, and medicine. The organization is coordinating with authorities to explore an airlift of emergency supplies into the country from one of its global warehouses.

World Vision assessment teams have been deployed to the hardest-hit areas to determine the most urgent needs. World Vision is already providing clothing (sarongs and t-shirts), as well as tarpaulins and blankets, to 100 households in the capital, along with rice and water.

World Vision's team in Myanmar estimates that up to 2 million people may be affected by the cyclone. World Vision has several community development programs in areas hit by the path of the storm.

Devastation
In Yangon, Myanmar, World Vision National Director James Tumbuan described a chaotic scene. He said in an article posted on World Vision's web site, "Yangon totally collapsed. All the roads were blocked with fallen trees. The way Yangon used to look, with its big trees, has been totally changed.

"Getting drinking water is a real problem," Tumbuan continued. "We need water purification units like those that were used in the tsunami. It could take days to get the electricity back."

World Vision reported Tumbuan said thousands of people are now camped in government schools in and around Yangon. He noted that one school in particular is sheltering 5,000 people.

Dr. Kyi Minn, World Vision's regional HIV and AIDS adviser, told World Vision from Yangon, "The destruction is unbelievable. Elderly people are saying this is the worst storm they have ever seen."

Bloomberg reported that the U.S. yesterday offered an initial $250,000 in aid to the country, which is among the world's least-developed, while scolding its military leadership for failing to alert citizens to the approaching cyclone.

"Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path," Bloomberg reported First Lady Laura Bush said from the White House.

Death Toll
"The UN will do whatever it can to provide urgent humanitarian assistance," Bloomberg reported Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York.

He added, "Because of the lack of communications, we are not quite sure what will be the total extent of damages and casualties. I am very much alarmed by incoming views that casualties have risen to more than 10,000, according to Myanmar's Foreign Ministry."

Cyclone Nargis packed winds of 120 miles per hour when it struck the coast May 3, sending the sea surging as much 12 feet.

State of Emergency
Bloomberg reported the government declared a state of emergency in five low- lying provinces, mostly in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta, where villages were flattened by winds and rain, the UN said. Myanmar has a population of 47.8 million.

"The water supply is unfit to drink in the aftermath of the destruction, raising fears of water-borne diseases" in Yangon, the United Nations news agency IRIN reported.

Bloomberg reported that a UN disaster-assessment team was dispatched to Bangkok, and the world body is prepared to provide a grant from the $500 million Central Emergency Response Fund, created to rush aid to nations in need, spokesman Farhan Haq said.

According to Bloomberg, the UN Children's Fund and its Development Program, which have offices in Myanmar, stockpiled food, water and medicine before the storm. They will distribute water-purification tablets, plastic sheeting, food and cooking sets in Yangon and the delta region.

Flooding, blocked roads and disrupted communications are hampering efforts to assess the extent of the damage, according to the world body.

International Assistance
Bloomberg reported that Myanmar's military junta has requested international assistance, and UN officials are engaged in talks with Myanmar authorities on how best to help.

IRIN reported that Richard Horsey of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, "Discussions are taking place in New York and on the ground about what is needed."

Bloomberg reported the price of food surged after the cyclone struck, according to the Irrawaddy newspaper, which is published by Myanmar dissidents in neighboring Thailand. An egg now costs between 200 and 250 kyat (20 cents) in Yangon versus 50-70 kyat before the storm, while one viss (1.6 kilograms) of pork is between 8,000 and 8,500 kyat, compared with 4,500 to 5,000.

According to Bloomberg, Myanmar is regularly hit by cyclones that form in the Bay of Bengal between April and November. Nargis struck as Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, prepares to hold a referendum on May 10 for a new constitution before elections scheduled for 2010.

The junta vowed to press ahead with the referendum after the storm, Bloomberg said Agence France-Presse reported, citing a state-run newspaper.

Bloomberg reported that the U.S. State Department said April 11 the referendum is an attempt by the military to retain power. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the vote is being held in a climate of repression, and called the referendum "a sham."
"They've orchestrated this vote to give false legitimacy to their continued rule," Bloomberg reported Laura Bush said at a press conference in Washington.

President George W. Bush has instructed the Treasury Department to freeze assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are held in U.S. banks, Bloomberg reported she added. The move would expand sanctions imposed last year.

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City: A Call to Service." Additional details about "Homeless" are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.