Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

IRRAWADDY DELTA REGION SUBMERGED BY FLOODWATERS

AFP: 06/05/08. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2008/05/06/

More than 22,000 people were killed in Myanmar’s devastating cyclone and 41,000 are still missing four days after the storm slammed into the country’s southern coast, the government said Tuesday. Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region, which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of utter devastation with homeless survivors running low on food and water.
Witnesses described horrific images of rice fields littered with corpses, and there were fears the death toll from tropical cyclone Nargis could rise much further. Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in the secretive and impoverished Southeast Asian country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in hard-to-reach areas.
In the government’s first news conference since Nargis barrelled into the Irrawaddy region early Saturday, it said 95 percent of the homes in the delta town of Bogalay had been washed away. “Many people were killed in a 12-foot (3.5-metre) tidal wave,” Social Welfare Minister Maung Maung Swe told reporters. State television said 21,793 people were killed and 40,695 were missing in Irrawaddy division, while 671 were killed and 359 people were missing in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city and the former capital.
Satellite images from US space agency NASA showed virtually the entire coastal plain of the country, one of the world’s poorest nations, under water. Christian relief organisation World Vision said its teams had witnessed horrific scenes. “They saw the dead bodies from the helicopters, so it’s quite overwhelming,” said Kyi Minn, an adviser to World Vision’s office in Yangon. Video footage of the disaster zone showed flattened villages, smashed bridges, and survivors forced to live out in the open.
Aid groups were rushing to bring food, water, clothing and shelter into the country, whose military rulers have long turned their back on the outside world — and prevented many aid charities from operating here. “Getting it out to the affected populations will be a major challenge, given that there is widespread flooding,” said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangkok. “The urgent need is for shelter and for water. Without clean drinking water, the risk of disease spreading is the most serious concern.”
Compiler’s Note: The articles in this section have been included because of references to the role of electric power generation in the relief operations in the Irrawaddy delta following Cyclone Nargis on 2 May 2008. Articles with references to the loss and restoration of electric power in Yangon will be found in the preceding section. For a complete listing of articles on the impact of Cyclone Nargis, see: Impact of Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar’s electricity sector.
Additional references:
Saudi Press Agency, 11/08/08. http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=581260

Provision of the Saudi humanitarian aid to victims of the recent tornados and floods in Myanmar continued here today with the delivery of additional quantities of tents, food stuffs, blankets, medicines, ambulances, rescue tools and other aid. The shipment also included 110 electric generators of various kinds.

Aye Sapay Phyu, Myanmar Times, 09/06/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/no422/b_brief.htm

The Supreme Group of companies have donated water treatment systems worth about K 38.5 million to Nargis relief efforts, said U Aung Soe Oo, operation director of the Supreme Water Doctor Group. U Aung Soe Oo said the company donated one water treatment system with a 5000-litre-an-hour capacity to Hainggyi Island and another with a 10,000-litre capacity to the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). He said that the cost for the water treatment system, set up in Hainggyi Island was K 13.5 million, while the system given to the YCDC is worth K 25 million. U Aung Soe Oo said the company has also been setting up water treatment systems bought from them by donor groups since May 7.

Myanmar Times, 09/06/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/no422/n014.htm

A survey of cleanliness standards among purified drinking water companies conducted by the Ministry of Health following cyclone Nargis revealed that a number of local brands were failing to meet minimum safety criteria set by the government. The survey was conducted by the Department of Health under the ministry to determine whether purified drinking water factories in Yangon Division had been damaged by the storm, and were manufacturing according to good practices recommended by the department. Dr Thein Myint, MD of the Oasis drinking water company, said the criteria for purified water can be divided into three categories of cleanliness – physical, chemical and microbiological. “Some drinking water companies couldn’t meet the safety criteria last month because of lack of proper purifying technology, and also because demand for drinking water exceeded supply in the wake of the cyclone,” he said. “The quality of water depends on technology. Most companies in Yangon use an ultraviolet system to treat the water. But because of lack of electricity and other problems caused by Nargis, some companies might have skipped some of the steps during the manufacturing process,” U Thein Myint said.

Chris Epplett, Grand Haven Tribune, 07/06/08. http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/308987758282104.bsp

Enriquez was able to carry four versions of IA's Lab-in-a-Suitcase portable laboratories into Yangon. International Aid has provided three Lab-in-a-Suitcase portable laboratories to rural clinics, one serving 5,000 people without access to electricity, two to other rural clinics without electricity which serve 10,000 people and one to a town clinic which is hooked up to the electrical system and will serve an additional 100,000 people, he said.

NLM, 08/06/08. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs5/NLM2008-06-08.pdf

Four C-130 flights carrying 28.02 tons of candles, spoons, curry-pots, blankets, mosquito nets, soaps, fiber cups, plastic buckets, fiber water-bags, two water purifiers and two 10,000-litre water tanks donated by USA, arrived at Yangon International Airport on 07/06/08. The relief supplies donated from abroad have been sent to storm-hit regions by helicopter, car and ship.

NLM, 03/06/08. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs5/NLM2008-06-03.pdf

[On a visit to Irrawaddy delta area], Gen Maung Aye is briefed on the loss of lives and property in Kyaiklat township, the repair of houses, offices, hospitals and schools, arrangements for the timely cultivation of mosoon paddy, the distribution of relief supplies to storm victims, the supply of water, disease control, arrangements for telecommunications, power supply and smooth transportation to Yangon along the [delta] waterwayd and the Kyaiklat - Maubin - Yangon highway. In Pyapon he hears of plans for the cultivation of monsoon paddy, cash donations for the stormhit victims, distribution of relief supplies, contributions of various private enterprise and their participation in reconstruction tasks, supply of drinking water, progress in telephone reinstallation, power supply, rerunning of rice mills and resumption of road and water transport.

Htin Kyaw, Myanmar Times, 02/06/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/no421/n003.htm

Saudi Arabia has donated five planeloads of relief items, plus heavy equipment and vehicles for rebuilding cyclone-hit areas. The air shipments, totalling 365 tons, include canned foods, medicines, clothing, blankets, plastic sheets and tents. The Saudi government is also sending a ship containing 100 tons of rice, pesticides, tents and water purifiers. But the main cargo of the ship is machinery such as bulldozers, excavators, cranes, ambulances, generators and Toyota Land Cruisers needed for clearance and rehabilitation operations. The ship is expected in the port of Yangon this week, the Saudi ambassador said.

NLM, 31/05/08. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs5/NLM2008-05-31.pdf

An IL-67 flight carrying 34.69 tons of office equipment, tarpaulins, two generators, three 1000-litre oil barrels, four 1000-litre water tanks, eight oil pumps, eight extinguishers and toilet equipment donated by Cambodia-based World Food Program arrived at Yangon International Airport today.

NLM, 25/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-25.pdf

Energy Minister Lun Thi discussed rehabilitation tasks at the relief camp opened in Aung San Thuriya Hla Thaung Sports Ground in Kungyangon township on 21 May. At the relief camp of East Kyaunggyi Monastery, the minister accepted US$ 50,000 donated by Malaysia-based Rinbunam Petrogas Oil Gas, K 50 million by UNOG Co, K 1 million and relief supplies by Myanmar Engineering Society, one Solar Power Supply System worth K 5 million, K 200,000, food and medicines by UE Group and donations from other wellwishers. The minister viewed supply of relief goods to the victims at Kyaunggyitaik relief camp in Kungyangon.

NLM, 24/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-24.pdf

The vessel Shwe Pyi Aung carrying supplies left No 1 jetty on Phonegyi Street for Bogale and Mawlamyine-gyun townships on 22/05/08. Supplies weighing 128.52 tons included foodstuff, clothes, CI-sheets and construction materials, drinking water bottles, generators and water purifying machines donated by international and local wellwishers. The supplies were loaded onto the ships today for delivery of the supplies to the storm-affected areas in Ayeyawady Division.

Marshall, IRROL, 23/05/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=12226

I drove to Dedaye in the Irrawaddy delta this week with a team of Burmese citizens who work for an international NGO to offer food, water, clothes and medicine to survivors. Altogether, our team numbered about two dozen people, including one doctor, a professor and teachers. The road to Dedaye, the nearest of the Delta towns to Rangoon, was a terrifying sight. Miserable, desperate, hopeless people lined the road. The people who survived Cyclone Nargis are going to die if sustained aid doesn’t reach them soon. With no shelter, people stood or sat in heavy rain from dawn to dusk, waiting for help from volunteer donors. These survivors said they have received nothing from the government. Police were deployed in the area last week, but they appear to do nothing but check on people entering the area. The police are fully equipped with food and other supplies. For the people living along the road, the conditions are conducive to various diseases, especially diarrhea and pneumonia. Many elderly people and children were sick. They had no source of sanitary drinking water. We gave what food, water, medicine and clothes we had. When we reached Dedaye, we saw the town had been devastated by the storm. There was no sign of any government aid effort in the town. We were all in tears as we returned home. I now feel like a sort of helpless victim myself. I wish I had more power to help the people who are living in utter despair and hopelessness. [The writer is a Burmese citizen who works for an international aid organization.]

NLM, 23/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-23.pdf

A briefing on relief and rehabilitation efforts was held at Sedona Hotel in Yangon on 22/05/08. National Planning and Economic Development Minister Soe Tha told officials, diplomats, representatives of 39 donor countries and officials of 12 INGOs that 419 relief camps have been set up. Approximately 60pc of the normal power consumption rate is now being supplied in Yangon and 76pc of 150,000 communication lines are now in good condition. Water supply to Yangon by the YCDC has reached 98.5pc, he said. Also present on the occasion were 158 representatives from UN agencies, donor countries and ASEAN nations. Afterwards, representatives of UN agencies, donor countries and ASEAN nations visited Atwinpadan relief camp in Hlinethaya township and a relief camp in Dagon Myothit (North).

NLM, 23/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-23.pdf

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and party went by helicopter to Kyonda village relief camp in Dedaye township where they were welcomed by Energy Minister Lun Thi and officials. Minister Lun Thi briefed them on damages caused by the cyclone in Dedaye township and the accomplishment of relief tasks by the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee through the close supervision of Prime Minister Thein Sein. Next, S-G Ban Kimoon and party observed communication links, the supply of power through a solar system, accommodation of families and consoled the storm victims. Afterwards, S-G Ban Ki-moon, Minister Lun Thi and officials concerned flew to Mawlamyinekyun by helicopter.

AP: 23/05/08. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iy-MfhLN9Q7MwtQ1VlrvexLjr2dAD90QUB9G1

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon flew over the flooded Irrawaddy delta on 22/05/08, where the ravages of a cyclone stretched as far as the eye could see: Villages were empty of life, flattened huts dissolved into vast areas of water and people perched on rooftops. The four-hour tour included two stops — one at Mawlamyinegyun, an aid distribution point stocked with bags of rice and cartons of bottled drinking water and the other at a makeshift camp where 500 people huddled in tents in the village of Kyondah, 45 miles SW of Rangoon. Kyondah — which has electricity and clean water — is somewhat of a showcase and was selected for visits by senior junta members, foreign embassy officials and international aid organizations last week. At the camp, the secretary-general was given a detailed explanation by [Energy Minister] Lun Thi of how Kyondah, formerly a cluster of seven villages with a population of 5,228, has expertly handled relief efforts. The village had 122 dead and missing, he said. He displayed charts saying the camp had 300 bags of rice, 64 boxes of instant noodles, 1,500 eggs, 12,000 bottles of drinking water and 1,240 pieces of preserved meat. Also listed were napkins, steel bowls, blankets, T-shirts, tarps and men's and ladies' underwear. While Lun Thi spoke, Ban sat in the front row of an elaborately constructed sitting room where bowls of fruit and soda were served. Ban ate and drank nothing.

NLM, 22/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-22.pdf

A ship carrying over 100 tons of relief aids and specialists stopped at Ngwezinyaw Village and Ngatantayar villages in Shaukchaung Village-tract in Mawlamyinegyun Township on 18 May and officials distributed relief aids to over 4000 storm victims and two 1000-kW generators to monasteries. Specialists provided treatment to over 100 patients on the ship. Similarly, Shwemyineaung Ship carrying over 100 tons of relief aids arrived at Myattha Ywama and Myattha Ywawa villages in the delta region. Officials distributed relief aids to over 5000 storm victims and specialists provided medical treatment to over 100 patients on the ship. They also donated one 1000 kW-generator to the monastery in the village of Myattha Ywawa. [Photo on p 11 of the print edition of NLM of workmen carrying out repairs on an electricity distribution pole in Bogale.]

NLM, 21/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-21.pdf

A Labutta-based military vessel loaded with 25 tons of rice, palm oil, tarpaulin, rubber sheet, purified water, clothes, pipe, pumps, soap, tents, dry noodles, dry fish, generators, snacks, salt, potato, gram and diesel transported them to Polaungyi rehabilitation camp in the township.

NLM, 20/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-20.pdf

General Than Shwe and party visit the relief camp in Kyonda Village in Dedaye township where they view medical treatment being given to storm victims. They also look into measures taken to set up a solar-powered electrical system in the camp and open a CDMA station, as well as to supply drinking water and electricity with generators and to cook using gas stoves. [Photo on p 8 of the print edition of NLM showing Gen Than Shwe looking at the solar panel in the camp.]

NLM, 19/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-19.pdf

Photo on p 2 of portable generators at a relief camp in Kyondah Village in Dedaye township.

Moe Aung Tin, IRROL, 19/05/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=12119

Despite all the aid pledged to Burma’s cyclone victims, many supplies dispatched to Laputta are still not being delivered to those in need, according to residents in areas where refugees are sheltering. "We passed by a convoy from the Max Myanmar company, which was carrying assistance to Laputta Township,” said a private donor from Rangoon, who volunteered to distribute emergency aid in Laputta on May 14. “I asked the drivers what they wee carrying and they told me sacks of rice, generators and batteries donated from Japan. When I arrived in Laputta and went to the monasteries, they said they hadn't received any batteries or generators." Nonetheless, some volunteers, monks and refugees in Laputta—one of the areas most devastated by the cyclone—said they had received some international assistance from the United Nations Development Project (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and other international NGOs, in the form of food, shelter, water purification equipment and free medical services.

Thet Khaing, Myanmar Times, 19/05/08. http://mmtimes.com/no419/n001.htm

“The government is making its best efforts to clear debris [and provide] access to safe drinking water, electricity, communication services and smooth transportation,” Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, U Wunna Maung Lwin, said on May 16. He was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office that “1700 UN personnel from 10 UN agencies, the UN country team, 10,000 volunteers from the national Red Cross network and national and international NGOs are actively working together with the government in the relief efforts”. He added that six military divisions had also been deployed to help with relief efforts. U Wunna Maung Lwin said the government has provided K20 billion for relief, with another K5.5 billion contributed by local businesses. “But we are still struggling with a shortage of clean water, electricity outages and telecommunications break-downs,” he said.

Rebecca Palmstrom and Thomas Kean, Myanmar Times, 19/05/08. http://mmtimes.com/no419/n002.htm

Merlin, a UK-based medical NGO, is seeking medically trained volunteers, including doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers, for relief efforts in the Labutta area. Five doctors from Yangon were sent to the delta on May 12 and Dr Sean Keogh from the organisation said Merlin would like more volunteers to come forward. Merlin, with the help of local company Pandal Cruises, has found a unique way to overcome the problem of transporting staff and goods to the delta while providing shelter and a clean surgical environment. Pandal Cruises has provided Merlin with the use of an 80-foot boat, which they will transform into a floating hospital for use in the badly hit area of Labutta. “Once we get the boat to Labutta we’ll turn it into a medical clinic,” said Merlin’s maritime operation coordinator, Mark Howard. “On this boat we’ve got access to clean water and adequate power supply, which means the doctors can do minor surgical operations in ideal clinical conditions. The boat will also serve as a bit of a base. For the moment, it will become a sort of operational headquarters for Merlin.” But diesel supply is also an issue for INGOs. “Everything is dependent on us getting adequate diesel supplies,” Dr Keogh said. “If anyone can help us out with that it would also make a difference.”

NLM, 18/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-18.pdf

PM Thein Sein and members of the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee party visited Labutta and greeted diplomats from Yangon and abroad who who were there to observe cyclone relief operations. The PM presented CDMA-450 telephones to be used in reconstructing the township and prizes to MPT engineers who have performed smooth and speedy communications. At Labutta Port, they viewed the unloading of relief supplies including construction materials from vessels. On arrival at Pyapon, Hotels and Tourism Minister Soe Naing who is supervising rehabilitation tasks in Pyapon township, reported on efforts to return the township to normalcy and participation of companies. At both Labutta and Pyapon, the PM met with officials, saying that relief works have been completed and enough work has been done to look after the victims. Now, priority is to be given to resettlement. Arrangements are to be made for those who are at nearby relief camps to return to their places of their own volition. He said that as the monsoon is setting in, arrangements will be made for farmers to carry out their farm work by opening tractor camps under the leadership of Agricultural Mechanization Department. Necessary farm equipment will also be provided for people who earn their living by engaging in farming or fishery.

NLM, 18/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-18.pdf

Led by Energy Minister Lun Thi, a group diplomats and resident representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat and UN agencies visited Kyondah village relief camp in Dedaye township on 17/05/08. At the camp officials showed them the solar energy system, accommodation of victims in tents, distribution of relief items, supply of electric power with the use of a generator, clinic, water purifying machine, supply of drinking water from tube-wells, mess, kitchen, and latrines. On arrival at Dedaye, they were briefed on conditions in the township, and progress in relief, supply and rehabilitation tasks and they observed the accommodation of the victims family-wise, supply of electricity and drinking water, storage of supplies, and the clinic. Another group of dipomats viewed conditions in 0relief camp in Pyapon and Setsan village in Bogale township where they observed supply of electricity, phone lines installed, dispensary, medical store, mess, kitchen, latrines and supply of purified water.

NLM, 17/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-17.pdf

Officials of several companies including Htoo Trading and Air Bagan, Eya Shwewah, FMI, Shwe Thanlwin,Tetlan, AyonU, handed over shelter boxes that will be supplied to storm-hit regions of Ayeyawady Division. In addition, the companies donated rice, edible oil, medicines, purified drinking water, clothes, tents, generators, pumps and other things to the victims of Bogale township.

Ed Cropley, Reuters, 16/05/08. http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSBKK219409

In the storm-struck town of Kunyangon, about 60 miles southwest of Yangon, Burma's military rulers have started distributing small amounts of emergency food there. "I am one of the few survivors," said one lady in her 60s, who did not want to be named. "I came here to ask for some rice." Her clothes -- a grubby grey top and faded black longgyi, or sarong -- are the same she wearing when the May 2 storm struck, sweeping away her home and possessions. "I only survived by climbing a tree," she said. Around the town, the countryside remains a mess of half-submerged trees, snapped electricity pylons or bamboo poles -- the skeletal remains of a house -- leaning at crazy angles. Villagers say they are slowly burying the bloated corpses of friends and relatives that have littered the rice fields for the last two weeks. But the stench of death remains.

IRROL, 16/05/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=12055

International aid groups have sent hundreds of tons of emergency supplies to Burma’s cyclone victims, but local aid workers say no aid is reaching huge numbers of homeless in the Irrawaddy delta, 13 days after the devastation. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), it has dispatched more than 700 tons of rice, high-energy biscuits and beans to nearly 100,000 people (about 7 kg per person) in cyclone-affected areas in Burma. However, there are at least 1.5 million homeless, say officials. A worker at Rangoon airport told an Irrawaddy correspondent that generators and water-treatment equipment unloaded from a foreign aircraft had been sent to Naypyidaw, seat of the Burmese military regime. Richard Horsey, a spokesman for UN humanitarian operations in Bangkok, said investigations into cases of misappropriated aid are now underway. Because of geographical and logistical difficulties, he said supplies are not reaching survivors quickly enough, but “the ability to deliver aid is increasing everyday.”

NLM, 13/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-13.pdf

An A-6 MX-A flight carrying 34.5 tons of medicines, blankets, mosquito nets, clothes, generators and water purifiers donated by World Doctors Group in France and the French Red Cross Society arrived at Yangon International Airport today.

BKK Post, 11/05/08. http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/11May2008_news00.php

Former prime minister Surayud Chulanont and a six-member entourage will fly to Naypyidaw today in an effort to convince the ruling junta to accept humanitarian aid for cyclone victims. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn ordered three electricity generators along with a second package of disaster relief aid to be sent to Burma. The relief packages include 20 water purifiers and six boxes of water purifying tablets, 500 packs of basic commodities, 120 boxes of chocolate-malt powder, 63 large tents, 34 small tents and 300 pieces of plastic clothes. The packages, prepared in cooperation between the air force, the Thai Red Cross and the Puen Pung (Pha) Yam Yak Volunteer Foundation, arrived in Rangoon yesterday.

AP, 10/05/08. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/10/europe/EU-GEN-Red-Cross-Myanmar-Aid.php

The international Red Cross has sent its first flight to Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis. The IFRC plane with 35 MT of relief goods left Geneva on Friday evening, said spokesman Marcal Izard. The cargo contains pumps, generators, water tanks and other water treatment equipment, as well as basic health care for about 10,000 people and surgery material. Izard told AP that the relief goods are "destined in first place to cater for those in labor camps and prisons."

Aung Hla Tun, Reuters, 09/05/08. http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=8276110

The United Nations said it would resume aid flights to cyclone-struck Burma despite the military government's seizure of food supplies on Friday, and Burma has approved one U.S. aid flight. The U.N. World Food Programme initially said it was suspending flights after Burma impounded food shipments for survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which killed tens of thousands of people and left an estimated 1.5 million needing food, water and shelter. Speaking to U.N. ambassadors after the launch of a U.N. appeal for $187 million for cyclone aid, Burma's ambassador, Kyaw Tint Swe, said a deputy minister had met the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Rangoon and said U.S. aid was welcome. He said he understood the first U.S. C-130 cargo flight would arrive as soon as Monday. "What we urgently need are medical supplies, food, clothing, electricity generators, material for emergency shelter as well as financial assistance," he said, welcoming the U.N. appeal.

NLM, 08/05/08. http://myanmargeneva.org/NLM2008/eng/5May/n080508.pdf

The Republic of India donated medicines and medical equipment, foodstuff, general products and three 3- KVA generators to cyclonic storm Nargis-hit regions of Myanmar at the jetty of the Ayeyawady Naval Region Command at Thilawa Port here this afternoon. the Indian ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Bhaskar said that the donation was only the first and that more would follow. The supplies and the three 3-KVA generators have already been distributed to the storm-hit areas.

NLM, 08/05/08. http://myanmargeneva.org/NLM2008/eng/5May/n080508.pdf

A total of 330 6-person-capacity tarpaulin tents and 50 generators from Japan arrived at Yangon International Airport, here, by TG-303 flight today

NLM, 07/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-07.pdf

Maj-Gen Tha Aye of the MoD and party went to Hpa-an where they met with the Disaster Preparedness Committee of Kayin State and were briefed on the preparations taken to prepare for [Cyclone Nargis] and the measures taken since the storm. Afterwards, they went to Myainggalay [across the river from Hpa-an] where they looked into the resumption of operations at the 4000-ton and 800-ton cement plants. At Thaton in [Mon state] they observed the repair of power lines by the staff of EPM No 2. Upon arrival at sub-power station, Maj-Gen Tha Aye gave instructions to officials there to focus on power supply tasks and to avoid causing power outages.

NLM, 07/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-07.pdf

A press conference on conditions in regions of Myanmar struck by the cyclonic storm ‘Nargis’ and relief measures being taken was held at the Myanmar Radio and Television Hall on Pyay Road on 06/05/08. Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee was informed of the cyclone. The NDPCC was formed in 2005 to take necessary measures in case of disaster drawing lessons from the incident of Tsunami that occurred in SE Asian region in December 2005. The Government has earmarked K 5 billion to be spent on relief work and aids, and assistance from the people and businessmen are required to nomalize the situation as the storm caused heavy loss and damages. Relief aids from local as well as foreign countries are needed to help victims.

NLM, 06/05/08. http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/NLM2008-05-06.pdf

Diplomats and representatives of UN Agencies were briefed on the situation of the areas hit by the cyclonic storm Nargis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on 05/05/08. Minister U Nyan Win explained loss of lives and destruction caused by Nargis that occurred in Myanmar beginning 2 May. According to information so far received, there were over 10,000 deaths in Ayeyawady Div, 59 in Yangon Div and about 3,000 people missing. The severe storm caused the temporary cut of power supply and telephone communications. IDD calls were cut off during Nargis on 3 May but MPT has repaired the connection and IDD calls resumed operation at noon on 4 May. iPstar satellite phone lines can also be used. Twenty five mobile radio stations in Yangon resumed operation on 05/05/08.

AP, Reuters: 05/05/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=11757

At least 351 people were killed and nearly 100,000 left homeless when tropical cyclone Nargis tore through the delta area of southern Burma, razing thousands of buildings and knocking out power lines, state media said. On Hainggyi island off the country's southwest coast 162 were killed, military-run Myaddy television station reported on Monday while many others died in the low-lying Irrawaddy delta. "The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge," said Chris Kaye, the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator in Rangoon. "The villages there have reportedly been completely flattened." State television reported that in the Irrawaddy's Labutta township, 75 percent of the buildings had collapsed. The UN planned to send teams on Monday to assess the damage, Kaye said. Initial assessment efforts had been hampered by roads clogged with debris and downed phone lines, he added.

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