Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
Myanmar halts rice exports as floods hit crop
Myanmar halted rice shipments after floods over the past month inundated farmland, raising the specter of supply disruptions in the sixth-biggest exporter. The Myanmar Rice Federation voluntarily suspended exports to prevent an increase in prices after more than 200,000 acres (about 81,000 hectares) of paddy fields ...
China explosion: Tianjin death toll rises in port blasts
At least 44 people are now known to have died, and more than 500 injured, following two major explosions in China’s northern port city of Tianjin. Twelve firefighters were among the dead, China’s official Xinhua news agency said as it reported a doubling of the death ...
On an island in the delta, flood-affected locals speak of daily struggles
On Ye Lar Island in the Irrawaddy delta, people shelter in their flood-damaged homes, hoping for the waters that surround them to recede so they can begin to rebuild their lives. Many have lost farmland and almost every one of the 500 homes on the island ...
Myanmar flood death toll tops 100
The death toll from severe flooding across Myanmar has topped 100, state media have reported, with nearly 1 million people affected as fears intensify for the country’s crucial rice bowl region. Floods from a heavy monsoon season have cut through South and Southeast Asia in recent ...
Rakhine, delta brace for more bad weather
Western Myanmar is bracing itself for more foul weather as the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology yesterday forecast additional rain along the southern Rakhine coast and Ayeyarwady Region. The department forecast heavy rain in northwest Myanmar and southern Ayeyarwady Region until 14 August. Keep reading ...
Rice destined for Myanmar's flood-hit areas
A local trading firm has donated 85 bags of rice valued at K2 million to Myanmar Red Cross Society for distribution to families affected by recent flooding. Lucky Family Trading handed over the rice on 8 August at MRCS headquarters in Botahtaung township. Keep reading ...
Flood-hit Myanmar farmers fear loan losses
As floodwaters recede from parts of Myanmar’s Magwe Region, farmers are facing new problems – paying back loans they took out before the growing season. Such loans from the state-run Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank are usually repaid from the proceeds of the crop. But in ...
Myanmar flooding affects one million
Nearly one million people have now been affected by widespread flooding across Myanmar since June, officials say. The government says up to 100 people have died and 1.2 million acres of rice fields have been destroyed. Keep reading ...
Myanmar and the politics of disaster
Myanmar has endured more than its fair share of human-made disasters. Almost everywhere you look there is evidence of the long-term consequences of official mismanagement, civil disorder and economic malaise. Those who suffered through the difficult decades of military rule remember the suffocation that comes with ...
Myanmar flood relief donor drowns
A woman from Myanmar’s Sagaing Region drowned while trying to bring supplies to relatives in a flood-ravaged town on 7 August, according to local officials. Ma Ye Ye Tun, 25, was ferrying donations with three other women from Kama village when their boat capsized, U Soe ...
