A Red Cross Red Crescent relief pipeline to the victims of the Myanmar cyclone is growing by the day. By the end of Monday ten flights carrying a total of 35 tonnes of desperately needed aid, including six form the International Federation’s logistics hub in Kuala Lumpur will have reached Yangon since Wednesday. The International Federation has also confirmed that at least two flights a day will depart from the Malaysian capital this week.
“Of course we still face huge challenges,” said Igor Dmitryuk, head of the International Federation’s regional logistics unit in Kuala Lumpur. “This is only the start and we are working round the clock to identify every possible avenue into the country, whether by air, land or sea. But we can begin to feel a rhythm.”
By Friday last week it was estimated that Red Cross aid had reached some 80,000 people in the devastated zone, part of an estimated 220,000 assisted by the overall humanitarian effort. Thousands of Myanmar Red Cross volunteers have delivered emergency supplies routinely pre-positioned in Red Cross warehouses before the cyclone – from soap and hygiene goods to water purification tablets, mosquito nets, and food – as well as the aid that has arrived since.
The first flights brought emergency shelter materials – tarpaulins, poles and tools – and thousands of jerry cans and mosquito nets. French Red Cross water and sanitation equipment has arrived as well. This week more shelter material, tarpaulins and nets will follow, along with sets of kitchen and cooking utensils.
The International Federation is using both cargo space in commercial flights and chartered aircraft to get supplies in. Three charters have now been confirmed for this week, each carrying 18 tonnes, and this morning (Monday) five more were close to being finalized. With the flights already confirmed, the International Federation will have flown in some 130 tonnes of relief since the start of the operation.
The logistical challenge is the greater because Yangon’s main port has been virtually closed since two cranes collapsed in the entrance and, according to reports, one ship is stuck. The International Federation continues to search for trucking routes although for the moment there are no sure options.
A five-day haul from Bangkok to the Ayeyarwady delta is fraught with security problems, and looting is a danger once the Thai border has been crossed. Trucking down from Bangladesh where the Red Cross and Red Crescent has supplies available is problematic because of road conditions.
“We asked some trucking companies and they threw up their hands,” Dmitryuk said. “They told us no one had ever tried it. They didn’t even know if it was possible. They said in places the roads were more like donkey tracks.”
So air offers the solutions for the time being and both air charter options from the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, and from the Red Cross Red Crescent logistics hub in Dubai are being looked at.
“With what we have here in Kuala Lumpur, and in Dhaka and Dubai, foreseeable needs can be covered,” Dmitryuk said. “And this week we start placing orders for the replenishment of our warehouses once things really get rolling.”
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A Red Cross Red Crescent relief pipeline to the victims of the Myanmar cyclone is growing by the day. (Photo: European Press Agency)
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The International Federation is using both cargo space in commercial flights and chartered aircraft to get supplies in. Three charters have now been confirmed for this week, each carrying 18 tonnes, and Monday morning five more were close to being finalized. (Photo: European Press Agency)
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