Burma Related News

By FROM D. ARUL RAJOO 

YANGON, June 24 (Bernama) -- The second flash appeal conference for the immediate recovery for Cyclone Nargis victims in Myanmar will be held in New York on July 10 as latest surveys showed 42 percent of all food stocks in the affected areas have been destroyed.

The Asean-led Post Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) assessment team found that 11 percent of food stocks were partially destroyed.

Dr Puji Pujono, a member of the Asean Triparte Core Group established by Asean to undertake the recovery and reconstruction of the cyclone affected areas, said 56 percent of the people obtained their food from the market while 45 percent through humanitarian distribution.

The World Food Programme (WFP) had told Asean officials that their stock of rice could only last until end of June and another 50,000 metric tonnes were needed to help the victims.

He told the Asean Roundtable on Ponja held here today that 60 percent of the people surveyed considered their access to clean water was inadequate and people are shifting from ponds to rain water due to salinisation.

Close 140,000 people were killed or missing after the deadly Cyclone Nargis on May 2 and 3 while 2.4 million people in south of Yangon and the Irrawaddy delta were affected.

But one Asean official said contrary to fear of a second wave of disaster from diseases, no pandemic broke out as verified by an advanced team sent by Asean in the first week of June.

The first flash appeal was held here on May 25 when the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) requested for US$201 million (RM663 million). Last month, the Myanmar Government had said that US$11 billion (RM36.3) was needed to undertake reconstruction and rehabilitation but Asean officials were tightlipped when asked if Ponja had verified that claim.

While the preliminary findings were based on only 60 percent of the households, Ponja said the cyclone had severe impact on the livelihood, agriculture, shelter, sanitation, clean water and health of the population.

It said 22 percent of households reported psychological stress, the majority of whom shifted to bamboo houses with a maximum life span of two years while 60 percent village leaders said there was not enough seeds for the next planting season.

But report by Ponja showed that 47 percent of arable land was not flooded while part of the flooded land could still be cropped.

Among the main reasons cited for the destruction was strong winds and storm surges in certain geographical areas.