Burma is a LEDC with a population of 55
million and is one of the poorest countries in
southeast Asia; development is restricted
due to issues with the ruling military and a
desire to be isolated from the rest of the
world. A GDP comparison with the USA: USA
Burma (Myanmar)
$45,989
$2,697
Describe Burma’s location
and stick your sheet in
Introduction to Myanmar
Burma ranks 32nd in a list of the
world’s 50 poorest countries
and the last thing it needed was
a disaster the size of Nargis.
Describe the relief of Burma.
How might this have an effect
on the amount of devastation
caused by Cyclone Nargis?
Another physical factor has
been the destruction of 83% of
the mangroves in the Irrawaddy
Delta. Mangrove swamps get
converted into money-making
areas such as shrimp farms and
land for agriculture.
Mangroves act as a natural
sea defence to stop storm
surges – their roots catch
material and absorb wave
energy.
Formed 27th April 2008 in the Bay of Bengal
Hit the Irrawaddy Delta, Burma – at midday on
2nd May 2008
Downgraded from a cyclone – 3rd May 2008
Category 4 storm (wind speeds to 220 kph); 60
Kph less than Katrina...
- 2nd deadliest cyclone of all time (after Cyclone Nina
in 1975)
- 125,000 people died
- The cyclone was initially meant to hit Bangladesh but
it changed its track and headed eastwards in the Bay
of Bengal, hitting Burma instead
- Cyclone Nargis caused $10 billion in damage to
southern Burma
- Relief efforts were slowed as Burma’s military
government rejected large scale international aid
PLAY
 WATCH THE CLIPS OF CYCLONE NARGIS AND
MAKE NOTES ON: - THE EFFECTS
PLAY
 READ THROUGH ‘THE HIDDEN HORRORS OF CYCLONE
NARGIS’. IDENTIFY FURTHER EFFECTS AND ADD THESE TO THE
LIST FROM THE VIDEOS
Destruction of
thousands of homes
Many trees lay across
roads, disrupting
traffic and aid supplies
Hundreds of thousands of
people made homeless
with no access to clean
water
Many who lost their
homes – including
young children –
desperate to find
shelter
People had to queue
to buy clean water at
heavily inflated prices
Warning.
Graphic Content.
A family lies dead in Bogolay, in one of the
regions worst hit by the cyclone.
A dead body is seen floating in floodwaters
southwest of Yangon.
95% of buildings in the
Irrawaddy Delta destroyed
Sewage contaminated rice
fields and caused disease
Dirty water encouraged
mosquitoes to breed, increasing
risk of malaria
Electricity lines were destroyed
and roads swept away
Flooding caused short-term effects
of homelessness and death
Long-term effects included villages
and livelihoods destroyed
The entire coastal
plain is flooded in
the May 5 image
(bottom). The
agricultural areas
appear to have been
especially hard hit.
For example, Yangon
(population over 4
million) is almost
completely
surrounded by
floods.
Explain why so many people
chose to live in such a
potentially dangerous area
as the Irrawaddy Delta.
 READ THROUGH ‘The death and destruction of Nargis was
largely hidden from world view’ AND THEN: - EXPLAIN THE RELIEF/RESPONSE EFFORT
- GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF DIFFICULTIES IN
SUPPLYING AID TO BURMA
Aid was being kept in
cities and not reaching
rural areas
Experts suggested resistance to
aid was an attempt to preserve
national pride
A week after the cyclone hit,
only 1 in 10 of those affected
had received some sort of aid
Leaflets distributed to inform
people that aid deliveries only
attracting children and those
who do not need help
Foreign aid workers were not
allowed into Burma or were
restricted in their travels
The Burmese army harassed
volunteers
4
Brutal facts about Nargis
3
Social Effects
2
Economic Effects
1
Reason why the Irrawaddy Delta
was so badly affected