The survey, released in October, was carried out in the Irrawaddy Delta by a team comprising four expatriates and 15 local researchers from two community-based organizations. The study titled, “Myanmar – Surviving the Storm: Self-Protection and Survival in the Delta” was documented by Local to Global Protection, a non-governmental initiative aimed at documenting local perspectives on protection during major humanitarian crises. Altogether, some 2.5 to 3 million people were displaced by Cyclone Nargis. It flooded more than 783,000 hectares of paddy fields with saltwater, damaged irrigation systems, destroyed seeds, killed livestock, and devastated infrastructure in the Delta and beyond. Some 800,000 homes were either damaged or destroyed.
The study reported that aid workers estimated as many as 200,000 people may have been killed by Cyclone Nargis—most of whom died in a period of less than twelve hours after the cyclone struck. Earlier official data records the number of dead and missing at approximately 140,000 people. One reason for this discrepancy in numbers is that there were perhaps 50,000 unregistered migrant workers from upper Burma at the time of the cyclone (in Laputta Township alone), none of whom were included in official figures, said the study.
In the worst affected areas, survivors were still struggling to re-establish livelihoods long after Nargis hit. This was due to the severity of the destruction, environmental factors and also because the assistance received was not enough to meet all their needs, he said. All areas have seen improvement—in the worst-affected areas people expected it would take up to 10 years to return to the same situation as before Nargis. They generally have houses, but of lower standard than before. “Many larger landowners have not yet fully recovered as they do not have the investment needed to cultivate all their land,” said South.
“It is clear that obstructions to the delivery of aid resulted in people having to fend for themselves, particularly during the extremely difficult first month. Local initiatives by communities and civil society groups were crucial to survival,” said South. In the first days and weeks following Cyclone Nargis, informal networks and unofficial as well as official local leaders were important in helping communities survive, organize and protect themselves, contact the authorities and other outside agencies, and bring assistance from larger towns to the villages.
The study focuses on local voices and how affected people responded to the disaster. It describes the endurance, solidarity and ingenuity of many of those affected by the cyclone, as well as the important activities of Burmese civil society groups. Local leaders did not wait for instructions from higher authorities, but acted on their own initiative, taking on leadership and organizational roles in the first few days and weeks when survival was at stake, according to the study.
2011.11.04 The Irrawaddy - Perhaps 200,000 Killed in Cyclone Nargis
2011.11 Local to Global Protection (L2GP)