Emergency Assistance for the Cyclone Disaster in the Union of Myanmar

May 16, 2008

On May 14 (Wed), the Government of Japan decided to provide additional emergency relief goods (blankets, plastic canteens, portable water tanks, electric generators and reels of cable) equivalent to about $380,000 (about 43 million yen) to the Union of Myanmar, which has sustained damage from high waves and strong winds caused by a cyclone. These goods will arrive in Yangon on the 17th, and Mr. Hitoshi Kimura, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, will attend the hand-over ceremony.
It was announced that from May 2 (Fri) to 3 (Sat), areas in the southern parts of Myanmar surrounding Irrawaddy district and Yangon district were caught in a severe storm, which affected many people including more than 34,000 who were reported dead; the storm also severely destroyed public buildings including schools and hospitals, and also houses (as of May 13). The surrounding areas, at present, are suffering from serious problems including food shortage caused by obstructed access of transportation, drinking-water shortage caused by unusable wells, and lack of shelters for the victims.
In the present situation, the Government of the Union of Myanmar, while making relief efforts of its own, has requested emergency assistance of the Government of Japan. Even though Japan had already provided that, on May 5, emergency relief aid (tents, electric generators and others) equivalent to about $250,000 (about 28 million yen), and on May 7, emergency relief aid (blankets, plastic sheets, plastic canteens, portable water tanks and sleeping mats) equivalent to about $320,000 (about 36 million yen), it has decided to extend additional emergency assistance to the country in light of the rapidly increasing number of victims.

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