The Myanmar Cyclone

"Communication received from our sources in Myanmar confirms that there has been extensive devastation in the country following the cyclone at the weekend. ... Large trees and electricity equipment have been totally destroyed...The devastation in Yangon is great, so it is supposed that affected rural areas are in a worse state because houses there are often built with bamboo or wood rather than brick and concrete. Victims in Yangon are receiving emergency relief and supplying drinking water and rice must be a priority. Food prices have risen by 30% and petrol prices have tripled on the black market as there is no supply from petrol stations. We have forwarded emergency funds from the Disaster Fund and further funding will be sent as specific needs become known..." - Echoes of Service

"The main city, Rangoon (Yangon) is one of the five regions declared disaster zones. In Bogolay, a city of 190,000, an estimated 95% of the homes have been destroyed. In rural areas, where many Christians live and where building materials are often bamboo or wood, the damage is assumed to be even worse than in the cities where buildings are of brick and concrete; help has not yet reached most of these areas. Many coastal villages have been virtually obliterated. The death toll is currently estimated at 22,000 but expected to rise. Up to a million people could be homeless, and vast rice-growing areas have been destroyed." - Barnabas Fund