Guide Note

Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar on May 2, 2008.

One of the deadliest cyclones ever recorded in the region, there have been an officially reported 43,318 fatalities and 27,838 people missing. However, United Nations and other organizations have estimated that the casualties may be as high as 100,000.

Aid to Myanmar was offered by the United States and United Nations, among other groups, but was initially denied by the government. After a week of delay, a series of UN flights carrying relief materials were permitted. Boonsrang Niumpradit of Thailand, has been given credit for convincing Myanmar's government to allow aid. Since then, controversy has arisen as to the distribution of the relief materials, causing the UN to threaten a cessation of flights.

On May 14, 2008, the UN World Meteorological Center warned that a second cyclone was forming off the coast of Myanmar.

Fast Facts

1. Winds up to 120 miles per hour
2. Category 4 storm
3. Electricity, water and supplies were cut off
4. 1,000,000 people left homeless
5. Fishing boats are reported missing
6. Cyclone pathway headed toward Thailand
7. The International airport closed: flights were diverted to Mandalay
8. 5 Provinces were declared disaster areas

Relief Effort

Though there have been numerous and repeated offers of aid from nations around the world, the military junta that rules Myanmar remains resistant to accepting this assistance. However, aid from several nations and organizations, including the United States, United Nations, India and Thailand, has been slowly accepted. In addition to food, medicines and other materials, several million dollars in relief money has been donated.

Junta Blockade

During the first week after the disaster, the government reportedly did little to nothing to help alleviate the crisis as it grew increasingly dire. In addition to this, all international aid was refused during this period.

On May 9, 2008, the government finally announced that it would accept international aid, but only in the form of financial aid, food, medicines and other supplies, and that international relief workers would not be allowed entry into the country.

The government has since been criticized for metering the distribution of aid materials and of altering aid packages so they appear to be coming from Myanmar's military.

Referendum Controversy

A referendum on the new Myanmar Constitution was scheduled for May 10, 2008. Though voting was postponed until May 24 in the most severely effected areas, the majority of the country was called to the polls as planned.

The refusal to postpone the election on a national scale has been widely criticized. Many believe that, even in relatively unaffected areas of Myanmar, it was impossible to hold a fair vote under conditions of the current crisis. The government has also been criticized of diverting resources from the relief effort to staging the referendum. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, supported by the United States, has been the most vocal critic of the vote.

As a result of the May 10 vote, the new constitution was passed, receiving over 92 per cent approval, amid reports of pervasive ballot rigging, intimidation, and general fraud.

Devastation and Casualties

Cyclone Nargis blew through the capitol city and economic center of the country after making landfall near the mouth of the Irrawaddy river.

High winds downed electrical wires, bowed trees to the ground and tore the roofs from buildings. Initial reports stated that 350 people were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed and the villages in the low lying Irrawaddy delta were decimated due to the storm surge.

When communication was re-established in the area, the death toll had climbed to 22,000 but was expected to rise to between 60,000 and 100,000.

Tthe southwestern coast's Haing Gyi island, which initially reported more than 160 deaths, was hit especially hard by the storm.

Myanmar Facts

1. Capital city: Yangon (Rangoon)
2. Population: 48,800,000 (2007)
3. Official language: Burmese
4. Located on the Bay of Bengal
5. Neighboring countries: China, Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Laos