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Cyclone survivors struggle to find food in Myanmar
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis left Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Sunday in search of food and water as aid groups struggled for more emergency supplies.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:02 May 10, 2008
- Children eat at a temporary feeding center run by local villagers near Kundangon in Myanmar.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Yangon: Survivors of Cyclone Nargis left Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Sunday in search of food and water as aid groups struggled for more emergency supplies.
Myanmar's junta was still delaying the entry of foreign aid workers in the country. Aid groups warned that thousands more will die if emergency supplies do not reach them soon.
"Unless there is a massive and fast infusion of aid, experts and supplies into the hardest-hit areas, there's going to be a tragedy on an unimaginable scale," said Greg Beck of the International Rescue Committee.
At a hospital in Bogalay in the Irrawaddy delta, doctors were working around the clock to treat as many as 5,000 patients a day, said Osamu Kunii of the UN children's fund.
"They are exhausted. They are working long hours and they really need support...They have patients who cannot be treated properly due to a lack of human resources and drugs," said Kunii, who added that many survivors suffered from wounds, dehydration and diarrhoea.
Some 1.5 million cyclone survivors have sought refuge in Buddhist temples and schools and aid workers said they do not have enough food for everyone.
In the delta town of Labutta, the authorities were providing just one cup of rice per family per day, said a European Commission aid official.
"We have 900 people here, but we only have 300 lunch boxes. We gave it to the women and children first. The men still have not had any food," said one woman at a relief centre in the town of Myaung Mya, west of Yangon. "More are coming every day," she said.
On Sunday, more pledges poured in from around the world, with Australia saying it would increase its contribution to $23.4 million.
The United Nations has appealed for $187 million in aid. So far, a total of $77 million has been pledged, UN officials said.
Britain has pledged around $10 million, while the US pledged $3 million. India and Pakistan both relief goods, while Turkey pledged $1 million in aid.
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