Myanmar asks for international aid to handle floods
4 Aug 2015
The Myanmar government has appealed for international aid amid floods which have killed at least 46 people and affected more than 210,000.
Four areas in the country have been declared disaster zones with widespread flooding and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rain.
Many areas are still completely cut off by high waters or damaged roads.
The government has admitted giving a weak response to the disaster, according to state media.
The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted Information Minister Ye Htut as saying that flood warnings had not reached everyone, and there had been confusion over evacuations.
The UN says the flooding has destroyed large areas of farming land, affecting food security in the long term
Myanmar experiences flooding every monsoon season but has been particularly badly hit this year.
'We are co-operating'
The call for international aid stands in contrast to the stance in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis killed more than 130,000 but the government refused outside help.
The government has declared four areas - Chin, Magway, Sagaing and Rakhine - as disaster zones
The information ministry of Myanmar (also known as Burma) posted its appeal to UN agencies and donor countries for humanitarian assistance on its Facebook page late Monday night.
The statement also appeared in local newspapers on Tuesday.
At least 210,000 Burmese have been affected by the floods
"We are co-operating and inviting international assistance. We have started contacting possible donor organisations and countries," Ye Htut told Reuters news agency.
It said the World Food Programme had started providing food rations to 47,800 people, with the aim of reaching 150,000 people eventually.
The UN children's agency Unicef has distributed water purification and hygiene kits, and agencies are preparing to request for UN funds for financial support.
State media said the government had so far provided 1.5bn Myanmar kyats (£780,000; $1.2m) in emergency aid.
Ocha said that transportation, electricity and communication were disrupted across the disaster zones.
Access to these areas "remains a major challenge" with debris floating in rivers - a hazard for boats - and landslides that have blocked roads, it said in a statement.
The food supply over the long term will be problematic as well, with widespread flooding of farmland and the loss of grains and livestock, it added.
1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period. March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper, The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s Hsa-tu-gaw (the Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of Sgaw , is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian Dhamma Thadinsa (the Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
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