MELBOURNE (August 3, 2008) - This weekend marks three months since Cyclone Nargis devastated the Delta region of Myanmar/ Burma. The cyclone obliterated entire towns and villages, affecting 2.4 million people and leaving 130,000 people dead or missing.
While the world begins to forget the tragedy of Cyclone Nargis, CARE is committed to doing everything it can for the people who survived the storm. Three months on, the long and enormous task of reconstruction has just begun and communities will continue to need the most basic assistance such as food, for months to come.
‘The scale of the impact of the cyclone in Myanmar is comparable to the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004,’ says CARE Australia CEO Dr Julia Newton-Howes, who returned this week from Myanmar’s Ayeraywady Delta.
‘While visiting the Delta we heard some desperately sad and traumatic stories from survivors. We visited areas where 20,000 people out of a population of 50,000 had lost their lives.’
The floods inundated over 600,000 hectares of agricultural land, killing up to 50 per cent of draught animals. Seventy per cent of the health facilities and up to 60 per cent of public schools in the affected areas were destroyed or significantly damaged.
Since the Cyclone struck, CARE has reached over 225,000 survivors who were severely affected by the storm. Throughout 185 villages CARE has provided more than 925 metric tonnes of rice, 4000 yards of plastic sheeting, 20 metric tones of rice paddy seed and 9000 water containers.
CARE’s initial work centred on immediate and essential aid to the people who were most affected, however the long-term relief and recovery of these communities continues as CARE provides food security support, health programs, clean water supplies, sanitation, emergency shelter and household recovery.
CARE estimates it will take at 2-3 years to re-establish the people’s livelihoods.
To learn more about CARE and its response to Cyclone Nargis, please click here.
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