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Myanmar: UNHCR offers immediate assistance to cyclone victims

Briefing Notes, 6 May 2008

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 6 May 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR has responded immediately to the desperate needs of cyclone victims in Myanmar. Today in Thailand, we are emptying our emergency shelter material stockpiles of plastic sheeting and tents for some 10,000 people, for urgent dispatch to Yangon by the fastest available means as a first response to aid the thousands of people who have lost their homes. The supplies will be distributed through a Disaster Management Committee that has been established by the Myanmar Government.

On Monday, as a first rapid response, our office in Myanmar purchased US$50,000 of urgently needed basic supplies in the capital Yangon for distribution – including emergency tarpaulins, plastic sheeting and canned food.

UNHCR is participating in the joint UN emergency response effort in Myanmar with particular attention on the shelter sector, but a more complete assessment of the shelter needs is essential before launching a fuller response.

UNHCR has around 70 staff in Myanmar. They include 28 in the north-western North Rakine state, which did not suffer severe damage, although it experienced strong winds. UNHCR's office in Yangon suffered minor storm damage during the cyclone but is now fully functional.

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UNHCR Relief Items Pour into Myanmar

With eight relief flights and an earlier truck convoy from nearby Thailand, UNHCR had by June 6, 2008 moved 430 tonnes of shelter and basic household supplies into Myanmar to help as many as 130,000 victims of Cyclone Nargis. The aid includes plastic sheeting, plastic rolls, mosquito nets, blankets and kitchen sets. Once the aid arrives in the country it is quickly distributed.

On the outskirts of the city of Yangon – which was also hit by the cyclone – and in the Irrawady delta, some families have been erecting temporary shelters made out of palm leaf thatching. But they desperately need plastic sheeting to keep out the monsoon rains.

Posted on 12 June 2008

UNHCR Relief Items Pour into Myanmar

Myanmar Cyclone Victims Still Need Aid

Posted on 12 June 2008

Myanmar Cyclone Victims Still Need Aid

Cyclone Devastation in Myanmar

On 2/3 May, Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar, killing thousands of people and leaving more than 1 million homeless. As a rapid initial response to the crisis, the UNHCR office in Yangon purchased US$50,000 of plastic sheeting and canned food for distribution to cyclone victims.

Since then, the UN refugee agency – in the first overland convoy of aid – trucked in 22 tonnes of tents and plastic sheets from stocks in north-western Thailand. In addition, more than 100 tonnes of plastic tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets and mosquito nets are being airlifted in from UNHCR's regional stockpile in Dubai.

Although the UNHCR is not usually involved in natural disaster relief operations, it has responded to the cyclone crisis because of the scale of the devastation, the urgent needs of the victims, and the proximity of its emergency relief supplies to Myanmar.

Posted on 15 May 2008