Caritas Australia has last week reported that is working with its local partner, Caritas in Myanmar (Karuna Mission Social Solidarity [KMSS]), in assisting those who’ve been affected by Cyclone Komen, which brought heavy rains and some of the worst flooding in decades.
The UN reports that massive floods and strong winds have affected up to almost 600,000 people across 12 states and regions. Floods have inundated more than one million acres of farmland.
KMSS Director, Win Tun Kyi, says the cyclone which made landfall on 30 July has impacted a large proportion of the population, with four out of 14 states/divisions in the country declared national disaster areas.
Caritas Australia has committed emergency funds of $45,000 to emergency relief efforts.
“For the country as a whole, this is a very big disaster. But the needs are huge and we don’t know what will face us in the future. There may be more bad weather and food shortages to come,” Mr Kyi said.
Mr Kyi said across affected areas, transportation, electricity and communication are disrupted. Access remains a major challenge, with large amounts of debris in rivers. Landslides have also blocked roads and transportation routes.
“We have so far decided to respond to four key areas, providing essential food, shelter, water and sanitation, and livelihoods assistance to those affected. There are also longer term plans to help with the livelihood recovery process as many people have lost everything,” Mr Kyi said.
After many decades of conflict, Myanmar, formerly Burma, is one of South East Asia’s poorest nations. Many people in Myanmar live in camps after fleeing their homes due to ethnic fighting. The flooding has exacerbated an already fragile situation.
“In the central part of the country, many have lost their rice paddies, and so people have lost livestock and their food sources,” Mr Kyi said.
“In the next six months, we will focus on some livelihood recovery activities, but for the immediate response we will work on supporting those affected so that they can survive during this first 4-6 month period.”
A donation to Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Fund will help Caritas Australia respond to the disaster and help the people of Myanmar and other countries prepare for future disasters.