Climate security in the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal (BoB) region is emerging as an important focal point for climate security risks. This is largely due to a multi-layered interplay of geopolitical, geostrategic, and climate-related regional
Myanmar
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Race to prevent diseases in Myanmar cyclone zone
Preventing a disease disaster in Myanmar is now a "race against time," as many impoverished victims still await help a week after the brutal cyclone, experts warned Saturday. Reports of diarrhoea and skin problems already have surfaced, and health officials fear waterborne illnesses will emerge because of a lack of clean water, along with highly contagious diseases such as measles. Children, especially those orphaned by the storm, face some of the greatest risks.
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Fukuda wants U.N. in Myanmar
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has told a U.S. newspaper that he expects the United Nations to "more actively intervene" to help cyclone-hit Myanmar at a time when the military government is reluctant to accept troops from other countries, according to a government official. While noting that the United States is showing "great consideration" by preparing to deploy troops to help Myanmar, Fukuda was quoted as telling the Washington Post on Saturday, "But is it OK to forcibly go there when the (Myanmar) government doesn't want it and what if some conflict occurs?
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Cyclone alters Yangon's tree-lined streets
The shady streets of Yangon, one of Asia's greenest cities, could have been changed forever by Cyclone Nargis, which knocked down many of its 100-year-old trees. People in Myanmar's biggest city fear the storm's 190 kph (120 mph) winds not only took lives but also ruined livelihoods, dealing a blow to an already fragile tourism industry. "This was such a beautiful city, but no more," said Kyaw Win, standing by his house next to Kandawgi Lake surveying fallen trees mangled with electricity pylons. "And after the trees fell, it's so hot."
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UN says 220,000 reported missing in cyclone
The number of people reported missing in the Myanmar cyclone was about 220,000, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Sunday, warning of environmental damage, violence and mass migration. It said assessments of 55 townships in the Irrawaddy delta and other disaster areas found up to 102,000 people could have been killed in Cyclone Nargis, which struck flimsy dwellings with fierce winds and waves on the night of May 2.
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Cyclone overwhelms Myanmar doctors, disease threat
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis are overwhelming army-ruled Myanmar's crumbling health service and it faces a "worst-case scenario" of disease outbreaks unless aid is ramped up, a UN health expert said on Sunday. At a hospital in Bogalay, one of the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta towns, local doctors were working around the clock to treat as many as 5,000 out-patients a day, Osamu Kunii of the UN children's fund said.
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WHO arm keeping eye on situation
WHO arm keeping eye on situation Tripti Nath The WHO South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) is keeping itself posted of situation in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar. A control room manned by experts is gathering latest information on Nargis cyclone through communication links with the WHO country offices in Myanmar, Thailand and WHO headquarters in Geneva.
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After the cyclonic storm, the epidemic scare
A boy feeds his younger brother at a temporary shelter after fleeing cyclone-hit areas in the Irrawaddy division of Myanmar on Thursday. Here are the health questions and answers in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis that slammed Myanmar recently: What is the main health risk after the cyclone?
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Naval ships discharge supplies in Yangon
Braving high velocity winds, the Indian Air Force's largest transport aircraft landed in Yangon on Thursday carrying relief supplies for the cyclone-hit people of Myanmar. On Wednesday, two smaller IAF planes discharged relief supplies under "Operation Sahayata.' INS Rana and INS Kirpan, despite inclement weather, berthed alongside a naval jetty in Yangon and they were received by Myanmar Minister for Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe at a brief handing-over ceremony. Indian Embassy Charge-de-Affaires Manoj K. Bharti was present.
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UN Says 1.5 Million People "Severely Affected" By Myanmar Cyclone
The United Nations estimated 1.5 million people have been "severely affected" by the cyclone that swept through Myanmar, with the United States expressing outrage on Thursday at delays in allowing in aid. In Myanmar, desperate survivors cried out for food, water and other supplies nearly a week after 100,000 people were feared killed by Cyclone Nargis as it swept across the farms and villages of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region.