Cyclone Nargis Devastates Myanmar's Rice Bowl

▪ 2009

 On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis, an extraordinarily strong tropical cyclone that had formed in the Bay of Bengal and quickly strengthened to a category 4 storm, made landfall in Myanmar (Burma) and throughout the night churned up the densely populated rice-growing region of the Irrawaddy River delta as far as Yangon (Rangoon), cutting a wide path of destruction augmented by a 4-m (12-ft) storm surge that obliterated coastal villages. The scope of the disaster in an area with little infrastructure was compounded by the inadequacyof assistance from the insular military regime, which appeared to be more focused on preparing for a referendum on a new constitution than on assisting the more than two million people affected by the cyclone. As individuals, aid agencies, the UN, and many countries hurried to bring aid to the country, the regime was reluctant to accept outside help and insisted that supplies permitted to enter the country be distributed by Myanmar's government. On May 9 the regime confiscated a shipment of food and equipment from the UN World Food Programme. Although some international agencies were able to render assistance in the affected area, most disaster relief experts and medical personnel were refused entry. By May 15 the regime estimated that 77,738 people had died in the storm, with 55,917 people listed as missing, but the International Committee of the Red Cross believed the true death toll was probably between 68,833 and 127,990 and likely to rise. In late June the government of Myanmar gave a final total of 138,000 people either dead or missing, though it was likely that the true toll would never be known.

* * *