On 2 May 2008 tropical cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Myanmar and devastated large parts of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta. Winds exceeding 190 kilometres per hour ripped through the Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon for more than ten hours. Homes were flattened, more sturdy structures damaged, trees uprooted and power lines downed. In rural parts of the country up to 95 per cent of homes were wiped off the face of the earth.
This is a situation that the country has not dealt with before and the scale of the needs is clearly massive. Casualty figures continue to rise. The International Federation estimates that more than two million people have lost their homes or been severely affected.
Video: Red Cross Red Crescent response to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
By Bridget Gardner, International Federation's head of delegation in Myanmar since January 2006. Bridget has extensive Red Cross Red Crescent experience. She worked with ICRC in Geneva and with the International Federation and Australian Red Cross in Laos and the Solomon Islands.
11 June 2008 Village life in the balance
In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the people of Tiger River give no thought to tomorrow. Their concern is for today, and survival. Much depends, they say, on the next rice harvest. But with their fields now saline – from the sea surge that accompanied the cyclone – its success is already in doubt. Not all is lost, however, and spirits have risen since the Red Cross started pumping clean drinking water. Read
the full story
25 May 2008 - Speech Myanmar and cyclone Nargis
Statement by Markku Niskala, Secretary General of te International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on behalf of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement during the ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference, in Yangon, Myanmar Read
the full speech
23 May 2008 - Opinion piece Myanmar: twenty-one nights
With the Myanmar government indicating it may allow aid workers into the country, the task of reaching Burma's remoter regions becomes even more pressing. Every night, the dire situation facing hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors grows more and more desperate. Solutions tailored to Myanmar just have to be found. Read
the full opinion piece
Disaster management
