DanChurchAid
Burma
Horror stories from Burma are pouring in
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| Little girl in Yangoon, Burma, after cyclone Nargis hit the country on Friday May 2. View satellite imagery that shows the scale of the catastrophe: Reuters Alertnet: Map catalogue View photos: Aftermath of Burma cyclone |
“The worst horror stories stem from the delta regions. Local organisations are advised not to approach the worst hit town, as people are so desperate that they will attack relief workers” DanChurchAid’s representative Sara Olsen reports from Burma.
Sara Olsen is currently in the former capitol Rangoon, where the horror stories are pouring in. It is the relief workers who arrive back from the southern delta regions that can relate about the devastating destruction caused by the cyclone Nargis.
There is an acute need for clean drinking water, as the saltwater has polluted the water.
“We are receiving reports about an incredible amount of bodies floating in the rivers. There is a shortage of boats which delays the removal of the bodies that are polluting the waters” reports Sara Olsen.
Plundering of rice stores
The situation in the poor districts outside Rangoon is also serious. There are several stories about desperate people who are plundering rice stores. They have lost their homes and are in need of food and water.
“One example is the story about 400 people from nine small villages, who have lost everything they owned. They do not have a school building where they can seek shelter so they have made temporary shacks. They have not received any help at all, so they have resorted to plundering a privately owned rice store” Sara Olsen reports.
The military have managed to clear some of the roads in the central part of Rangoon and a third of the water supplies have been restored. It is expected that electricity and water supplies will be fully restored by the end of the week.
So far DanChurchAid has earmarked 750.000 DKK to arrange for food supplies for the disaster in Burma.
