Cyclone Nargis went through Ayeyarwady delta and Yangon Division in Myanmar

Cyclone Nargis which entered the Ayeyarwady delta and Yangon Division with winds in excess of 120 miles per hour destryed many of the school buildings in the area. They included some schools which were totally flattened as well as some whose roofs were blown away. In Pyapon district alone more than 250 elementary and high school buildings were destroyed by the storm. Almost all lost their school furnitures such as benches and blackboards. Also the children lost all their books and school uniforms in the surging storm driven waves that at some places reached over 15 feet. The school year had already started in the country but many students in the affected areas are still without adequate buildings to continue with their education.The students are using make-shift shelters or grouped in some undamaged monasteries and private homes for the teachers to conduct classes.

Post-Nargis assessment

As education is the most important aspect in life for a person to reach his or her full capacity the Joint Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA)/Myanmar Marketing Committee(MMC) Cyclone Nargis Relief Team had decided to give priority to rebuild or repair these cyclone effected schools and also to provide the children with the necessary school books, stationery and uniforms in time at its joint meeting held on June 17, 2008.This would not only lead to giving the children the education they need to face life but also be a means to overcome the psychological trauma that they had faced recently.

Therefore UMTA/MMC Joint Cyclone Nargis Relief Team invites and welcomes all members of the tourism and hospitality, not only in Myanmar but also worldwide, to help in this noble effort to provide education to the cyclone survivors.UMTA/MMC Joint Team will avail itself to facilitate and coordinate , cooperate and collaborate with the parties concerend for the success of their efforts.

The donors are free to choose any location in the cyclone hit areas to build new or repair the destroyed school buildings according to their wishes. They are also invited to provide school benches and other furnitures needed at the school as well as textbooks, exercise books, school bags, writing materials like pencils etc and also school bags and uniforms for the childfren.The project can be handled together with the cooperation and collaboration with UMTA/MMC, or individually or with the support of their international contacts.

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The cyclonic storm Nargis which battered the Ayeyarwady(Irrawaddy) delta and Yangon Division on May 2, 2008 had a major impact on Myanmar tourism. There were many cancellations and up to date the situation had not returned to normal. The major concerns of the travellers were based on the negative reports by the international media. The travellers were afraid of disruption to their holiday plans due to uncertain flight schedules, erratic electricity and clean water supply, photos of pathetic looking cyclone survivors and dead bodies, blocked roads, destroyed buildings and fallen trees, warnings of disease outbreaks etc.

The cyclone hit 7 townships in the Ayeyarwady Division and 40 townships in the Yangon Division with winds in excess of 120 miles per hour and the accompanying storm surge was over 15 feet at some places on the coast. This led to many deaths and destruction in its wake. Yangon, the commercial capital and the main aviation gateway into the country, suffered also but the main damage was to electrical and telecommunication poles when the trees were uprooted and fell on them. These huge trees fell across the roads and traffic was disrupted. Many houses lost their roofs. Some hotels also suffered but none seriously. However, in a couple of days after the storm almost all hotels were fuctioning normally. In fact even during the storm the international hotels in Yangon were providing full service to their guests.Electricity was restored to some parts of the city after a couple of days.

Cyclone Nargis did not touch the hotels along the Rakhine coast, which are situated situated just a couple of hundred miles to the north of its path. All the hotels at Ngwe Saung, Chaung Tha and Ngapali beaches experienced unusual high winds but suffered no damage. Life went on as usual at the famous tourist spots like Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake even as the delta and Yangon were reeling under the cyclone.

Now Yangon has been cleaned up. There is 24/7 electricity in the city.Clean and safe water is back on.All roads, even small streets in the suburbs, are clear of fallen trees and other utility poles. Offices are functioning and the markets are thronged with people. There are no reports of major outbreaks of infectious diseases in the city.The Yangon International Airport had re-opened only after 2-3 days closure due to the high winds and as a safety precaution. Now it is busier than before. In additional to the international scheduled flights that it handles in normal times a lot of relief flights are arriving there daily. Immigration and Customs Services are all functioning to full capacity. Domestic as well as international flights are full with passengers.

The delta areas that suffered most are now in the rehabilitation phase. Most of the damages have been repaired and life is slowly returning back to normal. Commerce has revived and schools have re-opened. Many storm survivors have left the relief camps for their native villages and are provided with necessary provisions to make life easy for them during the initial resettlement period. Regular health care services are being provided to the survivors , both still at the relief camps and also to those at the villages, by both INGOs and NGOs using both traditional and western medicines. Rice growing has been re-started at many areas with the assistance of the government, INGO and NGOs providing the farmers with seeds and power tillers to replace the lost draught animals. Buffaloes and cattle are being transported from other districts uneffected by the storm to help in the tilling and ploughing work. Fishermen are being granted loans and free issue of fishing equipment to help them with their livelihood. Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches, Hindu temples and Muslim mosques are provided with zinc roofing sheets and other necessary items without discrimination to help them repair the damage.

In fact the world famous Shwedagon Pagoda still shines bright in the noonday sun. Miraculously this Holy site was not effected by the high winds despite its height and prominence on a hillock.

So why not reschedule your holiday calendar to include Myanmar in your next holiday plans?

MYANMAR IS READY AGAIN TO WELCOME YOU!! Nargis action

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