Relief organizations were awaiting clearance from Myanmar’s military rulers on Wednesday to access areas of Rakhine State devastated by a deadly cyclone three days ago, and deliver food and medicine to communities in urgent need.
Hundreds of people are estimated to have been killed in the impoverished region after cyclone Mocha on Sunday tore down houses, communication towers and bridges with winds of up to 210kph and triggered a storm surge that inundated the state capital Sittwe.
Residents contacted by Reuters said no help had arrived even days after the storm and volunteers were digging through debris to search for the missing.
One resident who declined to be identified for safety reasons said about 400 people had died and more were at risk of dying “for not having food, purified water and emergency treatment. There are no ... search and rescue teams.”
Rakhine State, with a population of more than three million, is particularly vulnerable, and is home to the persecuted Rohingya Muslims minority that successive governments in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar have refused to recognize.
Some 600,000 Rohingya still live in the state, while more than a million live in sprawling camps in neighboring Bangladesh, having fled military crackdowns in recent years. Some still embark on perilous boat journeys to Malaysia and Indonesia.
United Nations agencies said they were still awaiting a green light from authorities to assess and distribute supplies in affected areas, some of which were inaccessible due to extensive damage.
“We have established communications channels with all authorities in Myanmar. We have asked for unrestricted access to affected communities,” said Pierre Peron, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The UN Development Programme, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN refugee agency UNHCR also said their requests were pending approval.
“It is important for humanitarian actors to ascertain damage, needs and provide immediate lifesaving assistance, not least as the monsoon season nears,” UNHCR spokesperson Reuben Lim Wende said.
State media on Wednesday said junta leader Min Aung Hlaing had visited affected areas in Bagan, another region, and separately met with a UNHCR representative to discuss relief efforts.
It said military vessels and helicopters had transported aid to Rakhine and 21 people, including security force personnel doing rescue work, had died as a result of the storm. A spokesperson for the junta could not be reached.
About 5.4 million people were expected to have been in the storm’s path, the majority of whom were considered vulnerable.
Aid groups seek green light from Myanmar junta to access cyclone-hit state
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Aid groups seek green light from Myanmar junta to access cyclone-hit state
- Hundreds of people are estimated to have been killed in the impoverished Rakhine State
- Some 600,000 Rohingya still live in the state, while more than a million live in camps in neighboring Bangladesh
Flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Afghanistan kill at least 17 people
- The severe weather also disrupted daily life across central, northern, southern, and western regions
- Afghanistan, like neighboring Pakistan and India, is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events
KABUL,: The season’s first heavy rains and snowfall ended a prolonged dry spell but triggered flash floods in several areas of Afghanistan, killing at least 17 people and injuring 11 others, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s national disaster management authority said Thursday.
The severe weather also disrupted daily life across central, northern, southern, and western regions, according to Mohammad Yousaf Hammad, who is spokesman for Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority.
He said the floods also damaged infrastructure in the affected districts, killed livestock, and affected 1,800 families, worsening conditions in already vulnerable urban and rural communities.
Hammad said the agency has sent assessment teams to the worst-affected areas, with surveys ongoing to determine further needs.
Afghanistan, like neighboring Pakistan and India, is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, particularly flash floods following seasonal rains.
Decades of conflict, poor infrastructure, deforestation, and the intensifying effects of climate change have amplified the impact of such disasters, especially in remote areas where many homes are made of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges.
