OCHA Situation Report No. 29
Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis
9 June 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This situation report is based on information received by the clusters, 
whose partners include UN Agencies, national and international NGOs, the 
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and IOM.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

1. Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, making landfall in 
the Ayeyarwady Division and hitting the former capital, Yangon. Of 37 
townships affected by the cyclone, 15 are considered to be 
'worst-affected'. Current estimates suggest that 2.4 million people were 
affected. 1.3 million people are estimated to have been reached so far by 
International NGOs, the Red Cross and the UN. Official figures as of 16 
May state that 77,738 people have been killed and 55,917 remain missing.

2. A Tripartite Core Group (TCG), composed of representatives of the 
Government of Myanmar, ASEAN and the UN, was established at the donor 
conference of 25 May to oversee the coordination of relief assistance. The 
third meeting of the group took place on 9 June, chaired by the Director 
General of Social Welfare.

3. A joint relief and early recovery assessment (Post-Nargis Joint 
Assessment/PONJA) coordinated by the Tripartite Core Group was officially 
launched in Yangon on 9 June. The assessment involves humanitarian needs 
and damage components: a Village Tract Assessment (VTA) and a Damage and 
Loss Assessment (DaLA), for which field surveys in the 30 affected 
townships are planned between 10-19 June. (Results from the VTA are 
expected at the end of June and will feed into a revised Flash Appeal.) 
Assessment team trainings for both components took place during the past 
week, advance teams have been travelling to affected areas, and a pilot 
assessment took place over the weekend.

4. There is a mixed picture regarding access for international staff. UN 
agencies report no major issues with obtaining visas for their staff, with 
179 visas issued as of 9 June. National and international UN staff have 
been travelling to the Ayeyarwaddy delta in increasing numbers with 
Government approval; 86 international UN staff have visited the 
affected-areas as of 9 June. International NGOs are experiencing greater 
difficulties in entering the country; visa requests in some cases have 
been pending for up to three weeks. Some International NGOs report 
problems in accessing the affected areas, with reports of organizations 
being turned away at police checkpoints despite authorization and 
unexplained withdrawals of authorization.

5. The Myanmar Cyclone Flash Appeal requests US$201 million for UN 
agencies and NGOs to meet the most urgent needs. The appeal is 41% funded 
as of 9 June, with firm contributions of US$82 million and a further US$51 
million in uncommitted pledges. According to the OCHA Financial Tracking 
System (FTS) US$164 million has been committed to relief operations in 
Myanmar in total as of 9 June, with a further US$108 million in 
uncommitted pledges. For updated information on financial contributions, 
please visit the OCHA Financial Tracking System (FTS) website: 
http://reliefweb.int/fts/. Donors are encouraged to verify contributions 
and inform FTS of corrections and additional information at 
fts@reliefweb.int.

NATIONAL RESPONSE

6. The 'New Light of Myanmar' newspaper reports that Prime Minister 
General Thein Sein, who is also Chairman of the National Disaster 
Preparedness Central Committee, visited cyclone-affected areas in the 
Delta by helicopter from 7 ? 9 June. The Prime Minister publicly denied 
reports of forced relocation and stated that the Government will support 
people living in relief camps and provide assistance for voluntary returns 
or resettlement.

7. The Myanmar Red Cross reports that it has reached 228,000 beneficiaries 
as of 4 June, 36,605 of which are located in Yangon Division, 190,000 in 
Ayeyarwady Division and 1,590 in Mon State.

Attachments:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docidEF81B339972AA9C852574630057E601&file=Full.Report.pdf


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