The Irrawaddy Delta and Cyclone Nargis
May 29th 2008
The mighty Irrawaddy river rises in the Himalayas and flows down through the centre of Burma/Myanmar. As it approaches the sea it has built up a huge delta region, with several major mouths and criss-crossed by innumerable smaller rivers and streams. The delta is at least 300 km from east to west, and 200 km from north to south. The major city Yangon (Rangoon) is on the eastern side.
The delta is one of the world’s biggest rice-bowls, and rice production and fishing/fish production are the main occupations of the inhabitants. Most of the people are very poor, although in normal times there was at least enough to eat. These are proud, hardworking and self-sufficient people who are unused to receiving help. Because of the nature of the terrain there are very few paved roads, and many villages can only be reached on foot, or by boat or tractor.
Cyclone Nargis caused enormous damage due to the 200Kph winds and torrential rain, and also the resulting surge of seawater, which had a similar effect to a tsunami. The result was enormous loss of life (the official figure of 180,000 is almost certainly conservative ), physical and psychological injury, loss and damage to houses and possessions, destruction of farmland, and loss of livelihood. Many of the survivors are traumatised by their experiences.
Around 200,000 buffaloes and cattle, which were used to plough the rice-paddies, were killed, and the floods of salt water poisoned the fields. Farmers lost 80 – 90% of their stocks of rice-seeds.
Schools were damaged or destroyed and most of their books and materials lost. There was also huge damage to housing in the poorer outlying districts of Yangon, and these people do not have the resources to rebuild their huts. Nargis has become the silent disaster. The world’s media has moved on, but the needs remain huge and will do so for many years.
