United Kingdom announced that it would provide 2 million British Pounds in humanitarian support....
At least 54 people were killed and more than 185,000 buildings damaged by Cyclone swept into the country’s northwest last weekend, according to state television.
But communication problems in the affected areas, where infrastructure was already poor, and the military government’s tight control over information mean the actual extent of casualties and destruction remains unclear.
The powerful cyclone roared in from the Bay of Bengal on Sunday bringing winds up to 250 kilometers per hour (155mph) and torrential rain to the coastal stretch from Sittwe in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh. It weakened to a tropical depression on Monday as it moved inland.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the destruction of homes and infrastructure was widespread in Rakhine.
“Urgent needs include shelter, clean water, food assistance and healthcare services,” it said. “There are rising concerns in flooded areas about the spread of waterborne disease and the movement of landmines,” a legacy of civil conflict that has been going on in Myanmar for decades.
On Friday the United Kingdom announced that it would provide 2 million British Pounds in humanitarian support for an estimated 175,000 people who left without shelter or access to clean water.
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