Press release: 17 May
As Many As 90% of Burma Cyclone Deaths in some Villages are Women, Children & the Elderly
Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis tore through Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta, reports have come in from the worst-affected villages where as many as 90 % of the deaths were women, children and the elderly. Those who have survived are among the most vulnerable to abuse, neglect and illness.
“Our figures in the camps show a lot of adults, but very few children and very few elderly,” said Brian Agland, CARE International’s country director in Myanmar. “The worst-case scenario is that a lot of children may have drowned. In one village there were 500 survivors and they were all adults.”
A Tearfund partner in Myanmar describes one such tragedy: “A man was stuck with his wife and child in the rapidly flowing water after the cyclone hit, clinging on for their lives. They were in the water for such a long time that he could no longer hold on to both of them. The mother pleaded for him to save the child. Finally, the father took the child and let go of the mother's hand and she disappeared into the giant water flow. When he looked at his child, he found that the child was already dead.”
The women, children and elderly who do survive need extra support as they suffer the most after disasters of this scale. Women and children, unable to run as fast or swim as hard as men, are swept away by the flood waters. Elderly people who are incapable of moving as quickly die as they are trapped in their homes.
Children are among the most vulnerable of the survivors and are often not capable of explaining where they come from or the names of their parents. According to Save the Children, up to two thousand of the youngest survivors of the Burma cyclone are lost and unable to find their parents.
Older people are another vulnerable group disproportionately affected by the disaster. HelpAge International estimates that one in 12 of those feared dead are over the age of 60, and that some 125,000 older people have been seriously affected. Many more have been displaced or left behind while the more mobile flee.
Bill Gray, Emergencies Manager at HelpAge International, says: ‘Older people face particular challenges in emergencies. They have difficulty reaching aid distribution points or carrying relief goods even if they can get them. They have unique medical and nutritional needs which often go unrecognised. It is vital that older people’s needs and capabilities are recognised and that they are fully included in the relief effort.’
DEC member agencies are using the vital funds raised through the Cyclone Appeal to help the most vulnerable in Burma. Overall DEC member agencies have reached at least 400,000 people.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Disasters Emergency Committee agencies are Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.
Public donations will be used for immediate needs such as food, clean water, medicines and shelter. But the scale of the devastation is so immense that a huge relief and reconstruction effort will be needed over the coming months.
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