Myanmar asks for global aid as flood misery spreads

Heavy monsoon rains have affected more than 210,000 people in 12 out of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions since June.

New devastation is feared in Myanmar as water from the badly flooded central and northern regions flows down rivers to the country’s more populous areas.

Chin and Rakhine states, as well as Sagaing and Magway regions were declared as the disaster-hit areas, the government announced on Friday.

A ten-member Chinese rescue team arrived in Yangon by plane Tuesday to extend helping hand to Myanmar people affected by severe flood which has killed at least 47 people.

Sittwe: Myanmar formally appealed Tuesday for worldwide help in tackling massive floods with rescuers struggling to reach isolated regions, as rain-battered Asian nations counted the rising cost of this year’s monsoon.

But the current quasi-civilian government has seemed eager to show it is mobilising.

“The government’s weak response to the disaster led to misunderstandings about evacuation efforts”, the state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar reported, citing government spokesman Ye Htut.

Around 1.2 million people have been forced from their homes after rivers burst their banks in the wake of Cyclone Komen – which barrelled through the Bay of Bengal late last week.

In 2008 the military regime was widely criticised for refusing foreign aid for weeks after Cyclone Nargis wrought devastation across the Irrawaddy Delta, leaving almost 140,000 people dead or missing.

Some affected people blamed mismanagement of irrigation projects and deforestation, mindless logging in recent decades that caused heavy rains in the area.

Dozens have also perished in Nepal and Vietnam following floods and landslides.

He said that UNHCR and its partners were still assessing the impact on the existing displaced populations in Rakhine and Kachin states, with a view to identifying immediate needs and distributing relief.

A Sittwe police officer said by Sunday 37 people had died in the state alone, indicating the final national toll could surge.

An AFP photographer in the area said floodwaters remained stubbornly high earlier Monday, with many people making their way to safety in rafts cobbled together from old tyres, salvaged wood and large plastic bottles. The country is also at risk from earthquakes, droughts, fires and landslides.

“It is quite clear that we have a major natural disaster”, he said, adding Myanmar’s government had been “much more prepared” this year compared to previous disasters. “We have started contacting possible donor organizations and countries”, said Ye Htut, the country’s minister of information and spokesman for the President’s Office.

“Across the affected areas, transportation, electricity and communication are disrupted”, the United Nations agency said.