Disasters and emergency response
Disaster preparedness and emergency response policy and administration
Flood-hit communities slated for relocation
Residents of 17 villages in Kalay, Kalaywa and Tamu townships plan to relocate their communities to safer sites to avoid future disasters, a Sagaing Region official said on 20 August. U Soe Soe Zaw said 13 villages in Kalay, two in Kalaywa and two in Tamu ...
Flood coordination drastically improved, but not without flaws
According to the National Natural Disaster Management Committee, the ongoing flood crisis has critically affected more than 1.6 million people, displaced over 333,000 households and killed at least 110 people. The massive relief effort is still under way, with the current outpouring of humanitarian aid more ...
As water recedes, mud poses new problems
Even as floodwaters recede, landslide-plagued Chin State and some villages in Sagaing Region remain inaccessible behind a thick wall of mud. For more than a month, transportation to the hard-hit and impoverished areas has been almost impossible. Flash floods wiped out roads and then deposited deep ...
Myanmar halts rice exports as floods hit crop
Myanmar halted rice shipments after floods over the past month inundated farmland, raising the specter of supply disruptions in the sixth-biggest exporter. The Myanmar Rice Federation voluntarily suspended exports to prevent an increase in prices after more than 200,000 acres (about 81,000 hectares) of paddy fields ...
Myanmar and the politics of disaster
Myanmar has endured more than its fair share of human-made disasters. Almost everywhere you look there is evidence of the long-term consequences of official mismanagement, civil disorder and economic malaise. Those who suffered through the difficult decades of military rule remember the suffocation that comes with ...
City seeks patience after floods
Record-breaking rains flooded Phnom Penh during a two-day storm, prompting City Hall to ask residents to be “understanding” yesterday. People were urged to avoid littering into the sewage system to prevent blockages. “We will do our best to make our sewage system work quickly and efficiently everywhere,” ...
Flooded Vietnam coal mines leaking toxic slurry into World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay: environmentalists
Heavy rainfall in northern Vietnam has killed at least 17 people and inundated major coal mines, causing concern among environmentalists about the contamination of the nation’s top tourist attraction and World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay. A week of persistent rain in Quang Ninh province has displaced ...
Myanmar officials use social media to fight flood rumours
Local government officials are turning to social media in an effort to share information on the flooding situation in upper Myanmar – and head off rumours of impending dam overflows and other catastrophes. The government has traditionally used state media, both print and broadcast, to share ...
Thousands forced to evacuate as severe floods hit Rakhine State
Increasing heavy rains have caused severe flooding in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar, destroying nearly 200 homes and causing serious damage to another hundred across four townships. During the first few days of the flooding, around 1,500 people were evacuated, and about 300 of ...
Disaster alert system begins
Starting 30 March 2015, residents of Banteay Meanchey, Pursat and Kampong Thom provinces can enrol in a disaster-response calling service through their phones in anticipation of the impending rainy season. “[In the past] the emergency comes before the information. The other channels we have used are ...
