SCIAF ready to respond to Myanmar cyclone

SCIAF is joining Catholic aid agencies around the world in readiness to help co-ordinate relief efforts in Myanmar (Burma) following Cyclone Nagris.

The storm hit the Irrawaddy Delta region on Saturday morning 3 May and current estimates put the death toll at 22,000 with a further 41,000 people missing. The cyclone has badly damaged infrastructure in the largest city Yangon (Rangoon) and destroyed tens of thousands of houses across the area.

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Caritas Internationalis, a coalition of Catholic aid agencies, is co-ordinating relief efforts for its 162 national members and working with staff in the region.

Communications to Myanmar have been severely affected and a clear picture of the devastation is yet to emerge.

Paul Chitnis, SCIAF’s Chief Executive, said,

“This is a huge disaster and urgent international action is needed to ensure help is given to the survivors of Cyclone Nagris. SCIAF is working with its international sister agencies to help co-ordinate our response.”

Caritas Internationalis Emergency Response Team Leader Dolores Halpin-Bachmann said,

“There is an urgent need for access to aid workers to the affected areas so that we can assess the damage, start to provide food, shelter, clean water, and medical assistance. Myanmar is a poor country and will most likely need international help to respond to a disaster on this scale.

“We’ve only been receiving sketchy reports, but they’re enough to make us concerned about the humanitarian situation. Nagris hit a major city with a population of five million people. In that environment, we know how important it is for people to get access to clean water to stop the spread of disease.

“Caritas knows from experience that the first few days are crucial to saving lives. Following the Asian Tsunami in 2004, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved because of the rapid and effective response of the humanitarian community in the early phase of the emergency. The government must do all it can to help aid workers respond.”

Caritas works before, during and after an emergency, supporting people to rebuild their own lives.