UNDAC & WFP Appeal for Warehousing Facilities, Uplift Equipment & Transportation

The following is an urgent appeal for uplift equipment, warehousing facilities and transportation to affected areas from Dr. Jemilah Mahmood who is the UNDAC Head of Relief Operations in Burma:

Today, all the flights and aid consignments have safely arrived and cleared to the individual agencies with no difficulty. There is an urgent need for warehousing facilities, transportation to the affected areas and "uplift" equipment as the one (being currently) used is faulty and may delay transfer of goods out of the planes. If there is anyone out there who can provide the "uplift" equipment, please contact the logistics cluster urgently. Thank you.

Contacts for Logistics Cluster (Led by WFP):

Deployed In-Country
Logistics Lead - Paul Wyatt / paul.wyatt AT wfp.org
Logistics Officer - Theo Lingens / theo.lingens AT gmail.com / +95048701

Deployed to Bangkok
Logistics Officer - Kevin Howley / kevin.howley AT wfp.org / +39 3405605726
Matthew Hollingworth / matthew.hollingwoth AT wfp.org / +66 813635832
Rachida Rabdelli / abdelli.rachida AT wfp.org / +66 0817925635
Elena Rovaris / elena.rovaris AT wfp.org / +66 0817925591



Source: UNDAC/ECHO team in Yangon

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

The Looming Water Crisis in Burma

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"More food reached Myanmar's hungry cyclone victims as roads were cleared of fallen trees, but a British aid group warned that up to 1.5 million people face death if they do not get clean water and sanitation soon."

On a related note, the first cases of cholera have also been reported in Burma. (Link to AGI, an Italian news agency)


Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Burmese in India collecting relief funds

An email from Mr Kim

I am Kim. We, Burmese in India, start working to collect donation for relief fund for survivors of Nargis..
Our priority to send relief aids are
(1) Cash - we have direct network with Monk Association to transfer, and think safest way to reach to survivors without passing junta...
(2) Medicine- Diseases such as cholera, malaria, diarrhoea and typhoid have been infected..and recommended to supply water purification tablets.

Sasana Moli- International Burmese Monks Organisation is closely working and dealing with the issue..so my suggestion is to discuss with them as well.

I attach our request letter for donation of relief fund...

Relief Fund for Cyclone (Nargis) Survivors in Burma
Appeal for Donations

Burma's "rice basket"—the Irrawaddy delta rice-growing region—was hit by cyclone Nargis on 2 May 2008 leaving more than 1 million people homeless and destruction of 95% of the buildings.
The estimated death toll may be over 100,000 and an estimated 1.9 million people may be vulnerable to water-borne diseases, hunger and lack of clean drinking water. This is considered to be the worst natural disaster to strike Burma since the tsunami hit the region in 2004.
The primary risk following the flooding of the delta region is the outbreak of diseases spread by contaminated water, such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid. Stagnant water is providing a breeding ground for bacteria and mosquitoes. Initially, the most likely killer is acute watery diarrhoea, which causes dehydration. Those most at risk are under-fives, the sick, the old and the pregnant. There are already reports of an outbreak of Cholera in the Irrawaddy delta. Other threats include typhoid and hepatitis A, both passed on by contaminated food and water.
Compounding the problem are the efforts of the Burmese military government to frustrate aid actually reaching the vast majority of people affected by the disaster. Though the Burmese government has officially asked for assistance, aid agencies have been reporting that the supplies are being prevented from getting through. Many aid organizations and workers including the UN are being denied visas to enter the country.
At the moment, aid is being allowed from India, China and Thailand apart from the UN Agencies. Other countries are unable to reach essential necessities inside Burma.
Donations in the forms of cash, medicines, water purification tablets and clothes are
appreciated. Your donations in cash will be acknowledged with a receipt and collected at the International Burmese Monks Association. The first dispatch of all donations is on 17 May 2008.
Your support is urgently needed. Please join to help the cyclone survivors by your kind contribution through "Relief Fund for Cyclone Survivors in Burma (India)."
Please contact for further information to:
• Mr. Kim at Ph: +91-9810476273, Email: reliefcyclonesurvivorsinburma@gmail.com
or
• The Other Media, B5/136, Safdarjung Enclave, ND, Contact: Sahana Basavapatna at +91 11 2610 5472, +91 11 2853 5860 and +91 99682 96202, Email: Sahana.basavapatna@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Kim

Coordinator
Relief Fund for Cyclone (Nargis) Survivors in Burma (India)

Committee for Relief Fund for Cyclone (Nargis) Survivors in Burma (India) concerns the Burmese and Indian activists to ensure that much needed humanitarian aid reaches the survivors.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue, Appeal,

Message from Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon

Dear Friends and all,

I am Fr. Ignatius Nyan Htoo, new secretary to Archbishop Charles Bo. On behalf of Archbishop Charles Bo, I would like to thank you for all your love and concern to our people of Myanmar. For the time being, Archbishop Charles Bo is busy with going around the affected areas in the Archdiocese. Here is the message that the Archbishop would like to communicate with you and soon he will be at the position to contact you personally.

Messsage of Archbishop Charles Bo

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to express our gratitude and thank to all of you for the messages of concern, prayers and sympathies for our suffering people. Indeed, the cyclone Nargis left a lot of terrible and bad consequences to our country especially to our poor people. All your prayers, concerns and desire to be of help for our people are deeply appreciated. We have formed a committee “Emergency Disaster Relief Committee” (MDRC) composed of Archdiocese of Yangon, Karuna (Caritas) Myanmar Social Services, CAFOD, CRS and New Humanity to carry out effectively and quickly the emergency response. We do believe and hope that the good Lord is close to us through all of you especially at this moment of suffering and darkness.

With deep appreciation,

Charles Bo
Archbishop of Yangon

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue, Appeal,

Update on Visas & Flights Gathered from Recent Sit Reps

The following updates have been compiled from recent IASC & UNJLC Sit Reps over the past 24 hours:

1. The government of Myanmar is on a four days leave, ending Tuesday. In the meantime, no visa applications will be processed from the Burma Embassy at Bangkok in Thailand.
2. Some aid agencies have been able to obtain visas into Burma through their embassies in Sri Lanka and Paris
3. The president of Red Cross in Myanmar has provided a certificate for Red Cross and IFRC staff to use upon Arrival at the airport. This will supposedly allow for visa on arrival for Red Cross staff, but it is still not sure if this approach will work in practice, however 4 staff have already arrived and been granted visas on the basis of such a letter.
4. Flights arriving from Singapore into Burma are said to be easier for entry into the country than flights from Bangkok.
5. The US Military is planning to send 1 c-130 plane on Monday, as well as 2 more plane on Tuesday - using these as test flights. Both planes will be carrying emergency relief items.
6. Information coming from the Inter-agency Logistics team within Myanmar reveals that there is fuel available in the country for the time being and this includes airplane fuel.
7. There are heavy showers forecasted for next week, especially Tuesday through Thursday. This may have implications for access as roads potentially flood and this may hamper relief operations.
8. Communications have been established in 3 out of four townships, and the fourth is being worked on.
9. An early assessment reveals that 3000 schools have been damaged, out of which 75 percent have been severely damaged.
10. The Ministry of Health has promised that supplies coming into the country from WHO will be released to WHO staff in Myanmar.
11. There have been a few reports of diarrhea, but it is not known whether they are related to cholera and in order to prevent further outbreaks, the Ministry of Health has agreed to a surveillance system created by WHO.
    
    Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Call for Emergency Volunteers by Australian Aid International

AAI (Australian Aid International) is seeking expressions of interest for persons wishing to volunteer to aid the relief effort in Burma. Suitable qualified and experienced people who have skills that would be beneficial to the AAI’s aid effort are encouraged to apply.

Suitable skills include but not limited to:

* Doctors
* Nurses
* Medics
* Public Health Specialists
* Engineers
* Builders
* IT Specialists
* Communication Specialists
* Logisticians
* Managers
* Community Development Specials


Important notes from the AAI website regarding this call for volunteers:

• In order to be successful candidates must also complete a AAI Introduction to Humanitarian Operation Course prior to deployment as a volunteer.
• Those wishing to apply can download the application form here.
• AAI we will only reply to those persons who are short listed for the Burma response
• Positions will be dependant on approval to enter Burma
• More information is available on +613 8625 0005 or via e-mail to info AT aai.org.au
  

Source: AAI's website & ReliefWeb

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

IDP Camp Update from UNICEF - Key Figures Released

Following assessment teams returning from affected areas, the following WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) update was released by the UNICEF in Burma during an IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee) meeting last night. Of the key figures released regarding IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in affected areas, 10,000 have been relocated as camps are too crowded and it is unclear as to how many IDPs have voluntarily relocated nor their distance while a chlorine producing factory is now operational and sanitation efforts have been initiated.


Bogale: 20,000 people living in 50 temporary “camps”
Pyapon: 16,000 people are living in 31 camps. In one of them, 5 latrines are shared by 3500 people.
Labutta: 150,000 people living in 117 camps.
Mawlamayinegyun: 50 percent of the villages have been destroyed and 20,000 people are living in 20 camps.


Urgent Needs:
Key problems with water supplies are that ponds are filled with dead bodies and cannot be used, and aquifers are saline. Normal water purification processes will not suffice in such circumstances. Buckets are one of the main needs and about 50,000 have been produced locally, but the need exists for 500,000 buckets.


UNICEF Contact Information for Donors:

Emergency WASH Specialist (based in Bangkok) - Roberto Saltori
Tel: +66 2356 9237 / E-Mail: rsaltori AT unicef.org



Source: UNICEF, May 10th IASC & Regional Cluster Lead Meeting

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Health, Water & Sanitation Update from Myaung Mya

The following health, water & sanitation update came in via SMS from a relief worker with World Vision who is on the ground in Burma, who requested us not to publish names of aid workers in-country due to the on-going & sensitive security issues:

According to the assessment team sent to Myaung Mya ADP, there are tens of thousands of severely affected people in 27 displacement camps who have moved from neighboring towns and villages including Laputta town. There are reports stating that nearly 1300 houses have been destroyed. In Hine Gyi Gyun island in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, there are about 17,876 people affected from 25 villages.

Cases of diarrhea were reported by local residents since yesterday. The people are in dire need of water, sanitation assistance and medical supplies. Reports of children needing medical treatment is increasing daily. Tarpaulins are already out-of-stock in Yangon and relief teams are advised to purchase these from Mandalay, in-country.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Situation Update from UN Resident Coordinator in Burma

Over the past 48 hours, the following updates were sent out, by Dan Baker who is the UN Resident Coordinator for Burma & the UN DAC, to relief teams responding to Cyclone Nargis:

1. The UN is now operating with a figure of 1, 5 million people severely affected. The official death figures are still 22 900, with 42 100 missing.
2. At least 226 000 people has been reached with emergency aid by 7th of May.
3. Message from UNDAC team to all relief teams: it is strongly recommended that only teams who possess pre-arrival visas are deployed to affected areas. Also it appears that visas are not available on arrival for persons other than diplomats from ASEAN+3 countries which are China, Japan, and South Korea
4. There are now 23 international agencies either operating in the affected areas, or planning to be operational.
5. IFRC and WFP relief flights have been landing in Yangon.
6. 62 Bangladeshi doctors without visas were reportedly turned back just prior to the UNDAC team landing in Myanmar.
7. The Government has now authorized the UN to airlift relief items to Myanmar from the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi.
8. Travel restrictions outside Yangon, are separate from the visa issue.
9. There is significant concern about the management of dead bodies in the country.
10. People seem to be coping by migrating out of the affected areas.
11. There has been some clearing of roads.
12. Electricity has been partly restored in some areas of Yangon.
13. UNICEF and Save the Children are currently leading on education and they are starting to plan for education to resume on 1 June, 2008.
14. Communication remains a critical issue: Phone networks (land line and mobile) have been partly recovered, but are still very limited while only UN agencies currently have internet access, though WFP is hoping to be able to move in some communications equipment in the coming days.
15. The water supply in Yangon has been switched back on but safe water remains a critical need in the Delta area. Queues for fuel in Yangon are 2-3km long.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Important Logistics Information for Aid Cargo Clearance in Burma

The UNJLC (UN Joint Logistics Center) have provided important and useful documentation required for aid cargo and & related-logistics clearance in Burma for relief agencies and they are now available for pro-bono usage at the Myanmar Logistics Cluster website. Some of the documents linked to below are either in PDF or Zip formats and can be downloaded by right clicking and saving link as (or saving target as for the IE browser).


Key Documents

1. Air Cargo - Planning Arrival Form
2. Air Transport Procedures
3. Logistics & Planning Map (Flood Overview of Affected Areas)
4. Coordinates for Air Fields & Helipads


According to the UNJLC, the information required in the forms above and those available on the Logistics Cluster website will assist the teams at the participating airports responding to relief efforts in Burma to plan for the adequate unloading facilities (labor, equipment, etc.) while the the final destination of aid shipments will enable them to plan what kind of forwarding transport is required in country (boats/trucks). Once the relevant forms have been filled, aid agencies are requested to communicate details via e-mail or phone to the Logistics Cluster.


Logistics Cluster Contacts

Cluster Lead: Paul Wyatt- paul.wyatt AT wfp.org / 0095048701
Bangkok: Rachida Rabdelli - abdelli.rachida AT efp.org / +66 0817925635
Rangoon: Theo Lingens - theo.lingens AT googlemail.com

WFP Regional Office:
Matthew Hollingworth - matthew.hollingwoth AT wfp.org / +66 813635832
Kevin Howley - kevin.howley AT wfp.org / +66 813635573
Elena Rovaris - elena.rovaris AT wfp.org / +66 817925591




Source: UNJLC

Tags: Asia / Myanmar, Burma, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Google Earth And Nargis

From the Google Earth and Maps' team blog, this post about how Direct Relief International is using Google Earth for their relief operations.

(Direct Relief International's page on Nargis)

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Press Release: International Fund For Animal Welfare

"...When animals with lowered immune systems crowd together on high ground, in wet conditions, outbreaks of endemic diseases such as Foot and Mouth become a grave concern."

IFAW's press release. (IFAW is a "four-star" charity, according to Charity Navigator).

Tags: Asia / Myanmar Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Cyclone Nargis - Images

Via NY Times' The Lede, some photographs from Burma. The Lede has some more reader-submitted photographs.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Independent sites to watch for post-Nargis coverage

The Irrawady, a news site covering Burma and South-East Asia.

Burma Cyclone, run by a group of Columbia Journalism School students who previously spent almost eight months documenting the lives of Burmese refugees in New York for their Master's Project.

Myanmar Relief, a blog run by a Richard Blair, which has a lot of links and opinion.

Added on 10th May

Mizzima and Mizzima TV, 'specializing in Burma related news and media.'


Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Phone Lines Restored in Yangon (Rangoon)

Phone lines have been restored in downtown Rangoon (Yangon), and Internet is back. With the exception of fallen trees and satellite dishes, things are life is resuming a sense of normacy.
Most houses in Rangoon are all brick and the walls are 1 to 3 feet thick and built to last back in the British days. The hardest hit area was in the surrounding suburbs and villages because the homes there are built on wood with bamboo stems due to poverty. They fared badly against 120mph wind and 12-ft waves.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

How you can help [Donations - Myanmar - Cyclone Nargis]

Google has donor links up to Unicef ("100% of your contributions through Google Checkout will reach the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support emergency relief efforts for children") and Direct Relief International ("100% of all cash donations go to programs, and not to administration or fundraising") on this dedicated page.

Updates

The International Red Cross Red Crescent has launched a preliminary emergency appeal for 6.29 million Swiss francs (USD 5.9 million/€ 3.86 million). Also see this appeal (pdf file). [The IFRC online donation page, which has the option to specify that a donation will go to Myanmar; details on how to make bank transfers; dedicated Cyclone Nargis page]

UNICEF has a dedicated donation page here.

Direct Relief International's Cyclone Nargis page; their donation page; and their tribute donation page (if you would like to donate in honour of or in memory of someone).

Save the Children has a response up here, and their donation page is here.

Doctors Without Borders / Medicins Sans Frontieres has an initial response here, and a press release. And this is their donation page.

Thirst-Aid's website says that it is "is uniquely positioned to offer help to the people of Myanmar. Our team is already working to help the people of Yangon. The two factories we helped create to manufacture point of use ceramic water filters are working overtime to produce filters. And our in country health partners are working to set up safe water distribution centers which will provide safe water and re-hydration solutions for those in need." Their Paypal page is here, or can be accessed via the top left corner of their site, or you can support them via their partner, Asia Transpacific Foundation, on this page.

Watch this post for new links. I'll be adding more as I find them.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Field Report From MSF's Website

"People tell stories of spending the night of the cyclone hanging on to trees all night long, while watching their villages being destroyed."

The full report can be read here.


Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Help wanted

If you know someone in Myanmar/Burma, could you help us get in touch with them? We would like information about the situation, and, ideally, people in the country who could join us on the blog (and perhaps a wiki if we need one).

We'd like to hear from people with reliable NGOs, secular charities, even in government or administration. The kind of information we are looking for is what the scale of destruction is, what emergency supplies and essential commodities are most needed, where money could be most effectively donated, organisations that need volunteers (many are willing to fly to Myanmar at their own cost, for instance), and so on.

Leave a comment here, please, with some form of contact information so we can get back to you.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Cholera Outbreak Reported in the Irrawaddy Delta

“The cholera outbreak has begun,” said one medical worker. “People have nothing to drink so they drink water from the creeks and rivers." Local medical personnel said some survivors from Kyein Kyi Chaung village in Bogalay have died of cholera. Cholera has also occurred among some survivors from Laputta. The government has been transferring Laputta refugees to Myang Mya Township daily, according to an army officer.

More than 600 villages are submerged in Burma/Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta along Cyclone Nargis’ deadly path. The worst-hit areas are Bogalay, Laputta, Mawlamyaing Gyun and Pyapon townships where more than 80,000 people have died and more than 700,000 people are homeless. Read the entire report

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Labutta, Burma, Union of Myanmar Residents Suffering after Cyclone

Struggling to breathe through the overpowering smells, residents of the Irwaddy delta town of Labutta wrapped layers of cloth around their faces and rubbed in balm to mask the odour. Death pervades this town so completely that many said they cannot sleep because ghosts of the cyclone victims torment them. One said: “We can’t sleep at night, because we can hear people shouting at night. Maybe these are the ghosts of the villagers."

One man said of the desperate survivors arriving from villages that had been wiped out: “The people have no emotion left on their faces. They have never seen anything like this before. They have lost their families, they have nowhere to stay, and they have nothing to eat. They don’t know what the future will bring. " Read the entire story

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Rocketing Fuel Prices in Yangon Leads to Newspaper Shutdowns

The Price of diesel fuel in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma, Union of Myanmar has increased from US$3.08 before Cyclone Nargis to US$15.72 per gallon afterwards. As the press must depend on generators after loss of electricity following the storm, at least 20 sport papers have suspended publication and only a few news journals continued to operate. Before the storm, Yangon had more than 100 papers which were regularly published. Read this story along with more coverage at Mizzima.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Irrawaddy Reports Monks Working to Aid Nargis Survivors

Burma's Buddhist monks have taken on leading roles in aiding survivors and rebuilding homes in Burma, the Union of Myanmar, despite efforts of the government to halt their efforts. Read the entire story along with additional stories and photos at The Irrawaddy.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Buddist Tzu Chi Foundation Aiding Cyclone Victims

Visa problems have been holding up aid from many NGOs to the victims of Cyclone Nargis in the Union of Myanmar (Burma). Buddhist group the Tzu Chi Foundation has, however, has already been able to provide aid to the cyclone victims. "Some 100 Thailand-based Tzu Chi members and volunteers have gone to Myanmar to distribute relief material and medicine to cyclone victims," Tzu Chi spokesman Ho Jih-sheng said. Read the entire article.

Tags: Asia / Myanmar
Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

Satellite pictures of the Myanmar coast

Images