Climate security in the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal (BoB) region is emerging as an important focal point for climate security risks. This is largely due to a multi-layered interplay of geopolitical, geostrategic, and climate-related regional
Myanmar
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Myanmar cyclone toll may be over 1 lakh
Yangon: The first of the UN's relief planes landed in Myanmar on Thursday as a US diplomat warned that the toll in Cyclone Nargis could be over 100,000, signalling a humanitarian crisis way beyond the military junta's estimates so far. Worldwide condemnation of the junta also grew, for keeping US aid planes at bay, even as thousands of hungry people swarmed the few open shops and fistfights broke out over food and water in the swamped Irrawaddy Delta.
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Nargis toll may be 100,000: US envoy
Burma's isolationist regime finally gave clearance on Thursday for the first major international airlift of food for survivors of a devastating cyclone after delays that frustrated aid agencies, but US flights remained grounded due to lack of access, officials said. With a death toll that could eventually exceed 100,000, according to a top US diplomat, Burma's generals were still stalling on visas for UN teams urgently seeking entry to ensure aid is delivered to the victims.
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Myanmar cyclone to hit pulses availability
India, a major importer of pulses, is faced with a delay in shipments of urad and tur owing to the cyclone in Myanmar, a major exporting nation. With an annual supply of 1.5 million tonnes of pulses to India, Myanmar accounts for almost 50 per cent of the country's annual pulses imports. "The cyclone would lead to a one-month delay in shipments of urad and tur. Shipments to the tune of 50,000 tonnes is estimated to have been stuck," said K C Bhartiya, president of the Pulses Importers Association.
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Is global warming to blame for Burma cyclone?
It was Asia's answer to Hurricane Katrina. Packing winds upwards of 120 mph, Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles inland. "When we saw the (storm) track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good," said Mark Lander, a meteorology professor at the University of Guam. "It would create a big storm surge. It was like Katrina going into New Orleans."
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Junta says no to US aid, will let UN enter
Geneva: The United Nations said on Wednesday it had obtained permission to fly emergency supplies to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar but aid workers were stsill waiting for visas to enter the country.
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Rescue Them (Editorial)
Politics mustn't come in the way of relief efforts in Myanmar
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Cyclone could spark fresh protests in Myanmar
The junta's slow response to the death and destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis and soaring prices for food and fuel could foment fresh unrest in military-run Myanmar, analysts say. At least 22,000 people are dead and nearly twice as many missing, and aid workers are struggling to get visas to bring life-saving supplies into the country. Food, water and fuel are scarce in storm-ravaged areas including the economic hub and former capital Yangon. Where they are available, prices are beyond the reach of most people in the impoverished country.
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Deaths may top 100,000 in Myanmar cyclone: U.S. diplomat
The death toll from the cyclone that devastated the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar last weekend may exceed 100,000, the top U.S. diplomat in the nation said Wednesday.
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Myanmar needs help, now
It poses a real dilemma for humanitarian agencies about how far they should be prepared to accept restrictions of their operations in the interests of the people they are trying to help. But in the wake of the recent cyclone they must act fast to save lives. BROOKS NO DELAY: Residents of Yangon in search of water. International aid has barely begun to trickle into cyclone-stricken Myanmar.
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Burma had issued a warning
The World Meteorological Organisation said on Wednesday that Burma had issued warnings ahead of the devastating cyclone, but could not confirm whether they reached the population. The WMO also said it is unclear if Burma has contingency plans to deal with natural disasters, such as the one which has left 22,000 dead, and that it will send a team to help the country develop such emergency procedures.