Rangoon, Myanmar (AHN) - Emergency relief is being sent to the flood-stricken areas of Myanmar. Heavy rains last week sent flood waters rising up to 1.2 metres in many parts of the county, forcing thousands of people to take refuge into emergency shelters. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has reportedly sent material to the flood-affected areas of Myanmar.
Emergency Relief Sent To Flood-Stricken Areas Of Myanmar
July 10, 2007 9:00 p.m. EST
Nidhi Sharma - AHN News Writer
Rangoon, Myanmar (AHN) - Emergency relief is being sent to the flood-stricken areas of Myanmar. Heavy rains last week sent flood waters rising up to 1.2 metres in many parts of the county, forcing thousands of people to take refuge into emergency shelters. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has reportedly sent material to the flood-affected areas of Myanmar.
State run media reports that some rail services were suspended and schools were closed in parts of the capital, Rangoon, and several surrounding provinces.
UNICEF has begun distributing emergency supplies such as medicines, clothing, cooking utensils and water purification tablets in the country to help the homeless.
According to a press release, UNICEF was able to quickly gain access to flood areas and distribute the relief supplies as they were pre-positioned after the emergency response to the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004.
The UNICEF relief material also consists of basic family kits, which contain clothing, a blanket, soap, cooking utensils, candles, matches, a knife, plastic buckets and tarpaulin.
Myanmar's rainy season began in June and it's common for the rivers to flood in this season. It is anticipated that many parts of Burma might have experienced record rainfall, while some areas would have seen the heaviest downpours in decades.
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
http://www.ncgub.net/article.php/20070711114718584