With the support of Irish Red Cross and through a partnership with French Red Cross, Myanmar Red Cross (MRC) is focusing on implementing community and school-based programmes for disaster risk reduction in 6 coastal states in Myanmar.

1. OPERATIONS FACT SHEET
MYANMAR: Cyclone Nargis 2008
Background:
The worst cyclone to hit Myanmar in decades, Cyclone Nargis, occurred on 2nd and 3rd May
2008, devastating 115 villages in the divisions of Ayeyarwady and Yangon. Much of the loss of
life and damage was caused by a consequent storm surge (reportedly 3.5 metres in many areas
and 7 metres in parts). On flat land this phenomenon can be devastating. While technology
allows cyclones to be ‘seen’ in terms of wind speed and rain potential, storm surges are much
more difficult to predict. According to official figures, 84,500 people were killed and 53,800 are
still listed as missing. The UN estimates that 2.4 million people were affected.
Irish Red Cross response:
Emergency relief phase: The Irish public
responded generously to the Irish Red Cross
Cyclone Nargis Appeal. This enabled us to
immediately respond to the huge needs of the
affected populations by contributing to the
combined co-ordinated efforts of the
International Red Cross Red Crescent
Movement. In this way, for emergency relief
goods and emergency shelter for those whose
homes had been damaged or destroyed. Irish Red Cross Delegate, Joe Lowry, arrived in
Additionally, an experienced Irish Red Cross Myanmar in the days following Cyclone Nargis to
assist in the IFRC emergency operation.
Delegate, Joe Lowry, was mobilised to support
the emergency relief operation on the ground. Amount contributed by IRCS to this appeal:
Recovery phase: Once the most immediate €480,000
needs of those affected by the cyclone are Dates of IRCS involvement:
met, it is also vital to ensure that longer-term
projects are undertaken to rebuild May – August 2008
communities and infrastructure destroyed. In IRCS personnel:
the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, there was an
1 Irish Red Cross Delegate was seconded to
urgent need to ensure access to clean drinking
the Myanmar emergency operation
water and safe sanitation. The Irish Red Cross
responded to these needs by providing Sectors supported by IRCS:
support to the International Committee of the
Emergency relief goods
Red Cross (ICRC) to build the capacity of the
Myanmar Red Cross Society Branch network. Emergency shelter
This included training in the construction, Water and sanitation
operation and maintenance of cement water
Capacity building
tanks in disaster-prone areas.

2. International Red Cross Movement response:
The international operation to assist the thousands of people affected by Cyclone Nargis was
complex and challenging. The areas affected were isolated and there was limited access via
roads, even before the cyclone damaged much of the local infrastructure, and local resources to
respond to a disaster of this scale were limited.
The ICRC office in the capital, Yangon, was requested by the Myanmar authorities to assist in
providing temporary shelter, emergency household items and emergency food, drinking water
and medical supplies. Additionally, as various places of detention were in the path of the
cyclone, the ICRC provided assistance to detainees, and through the ICRC’s Restoring Family
Links service assisted separated family members in finding loved ones, as well as the dignified
identification of the dead.
A key component of the Red Cross Movement response was to provide support to the Myanmar
Red Cross Society (MRCS) staff and volunteers. The MRCS/ IFRC Cyclone Nargis operation
targeted 100,000 households in vulnerable communities spanning 13 townships in the
Ayeyarwady Delta and Yangon Division and was the largest relief operation in the cyclone-
affected area. The MRCS/ IFRC assistance comprised of support for health care, water and
sanitation, emergency and long-term shelter, and restarting livelihoods. The operation also
included a broad range of repairs to community infrastructure, schools and health centres that
were damaged by the cyclone.
Beneficiary communication
Community meetings and strategically placed
bulletin boards and mailboxes were used in
villages as an important means of
communication between those affected by
the cyclone and the Red Cross Movement.
These created a forum which allowed people
benefiting from assistance to deliver requests
and complaints about the assistance they
were receiving. Face-to-face discussions
between relief personnel and villagers took Daw Myint Htay lost her house and boat during the
place during frequent meetings and daily cyclone. Since then it has been difficult for her to
monitoring visits. Such transparency and provide for her six children. A new boat and a cash-
accountability to the communities affected is grant from the Red Cross livelihoods programme has
a key element in the effectiveness of relief made it easier for her to again earn an income and
support her family. (MRCS/ IFRC)
operations.
For more information on the work of the Irish Red Cross, please visit our website at:
www.redcross.ie
Irish Red Cross Head Office
16 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel: 00353 (0)1 642 4600