New Delhi (Mizzima) – A year after Cyclone Nargis ripped through parts of Burma, at least half a million survivors in Irrawaddy delta are still struggling in vulnerable shelters and are in desperate need of permanent homes, said international aid groups.
Speaking to Mizzima, Andrew Kirk, Country Director of Save the Children in Burma said, over 500,000 people including 200,000 children in devastated Irrawaddy delta are still living in makeshift shelters with monsoons round the corner.
“Half a million people — many of them children — are living in flimsy tarpaulin structures, exposed to the elements,” said Kirk.
Meanwhile, James East, Regional Communications Advisor of World Vision Asia Pacific said, there further assistance is still needed to build secure homes and shelter for cyclone affected people in Irrawaddy Delta.
“There is still more to do regarding converting temporary shelters into permanent homes,” East said.
It is important to note though that the communities themselves have proved incredibly resilient and self-reliant. Agencies are there to support the work they are already doing to improve their lives, he added.
Kirk said impoverishment in the Delta, which was exacerbated by the cyclone, has made it difficult for people to rebuild their lives and homes, provide sufficient nourishment for their children or meet other basic needs.
Moreover, a United Nation official in Burma also said that despite aid agencies in initial stage giving emergency shelter to cyclone affected people; the distribution could only address a small percentage of families with destroyed houses.
“Donor response has only addressed the needs of 5 per cent of families with destroyed houses, who need more than tarps and rope to have a proper roof over their heads,” a UN official told Mizzima.
She also said that the vulnerable shelter under which 130,000 families (half a million people) take refuge might not be able to withstand the monsoon season.
The deadly Cyclone Nargis struck Burma’s coastal areas on May 2 and 3 last year killing about 140,000 people and left 2.4 million people homeless.
