VZCZCXRO3759
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGO #0108/01 0570414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 260414Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9881
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2508
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2453
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 5365
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RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7137
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1956
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0788
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2876
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 4775
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 000108 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, F 
DEPT FOR USAID/ANE 
DEPT FOR USAID/OFDA 
PACOM FOR FPA 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDMA 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID PREL PGOV PINR BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: RECOVERY FROM CYCLONE NARGIS 
 
RANGOON 00000108  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U)  This cable was prepared by USAID's Office of U.S. 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) in coordination with 
the U.S. Embassy Rangoon. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Most of the people in Irrawaddy and Rangoon 
divisions in Burma who were affected by Cyclone Nargis are 
making limited progress in rebuilding their lives nearly two 
years later.  With the assistance of USAID/OFDA and many 
other donors and international and local agencies, a 
mostly-effective and well-coordinated response has helped 
millions of people to begin to recover.  Local organizations 
have demonstrated that they play a significant role in any 
disaster response.  Cyclone-affected populations have 
demonstrated a strong resilience despite a lack of resources 
and access to many basic services and materials.  Yet many 
people, more than 100,000, live in very vulnerable 
conditions.  Economic recovery has been very slow.  While 
there are many equally needy areas throughout the country, 
the affected areas of the Delta will face an extended 
recovery process over the next several years.  Overall, the 
first phase of the humanitarian assistance is coming to an 
end.  End Summary. 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the coastal 
regions of Burma, killing an estimated 140,000 people and 
affecting an estimated 7 million others, particularly the 
Delta area in Irrawaddy Division as well as parts of Rangoon. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Two USAID/OFDA regional advisors based in Bangkok, 
Thailand, traveled to some of the most affected areas of the 
Delta in Labutta Township in Irrawaddy Division from February 
1 to 5 to monitor USAID/OFDA-funded programs, meet with 
several agencies working in the area, and visit several 
affected communities. 
 
 
SHELTER 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Most of the affected populations that the 
USAID/OFDA team visited are living in adequate shelters.  The 
team observed a few families living in inadequate shelter 
under plastic sheeting without any walls or sufficient 
plastic sheeting for walls.  The Shelter Working Group under 
the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) estimates that there are 
approximately 105,000 vulnerable families who have not 
received any shelter assistance and are unable to access 
resources to build back adequate housing. A report from the 
TCG released on February 9 noted that while some 50 percent 
of shelters were judged as safe by the Shelter Working Group, 
84 percent of households that were surveyed across affected 
Delta communities perceived their shelter as being worse than 
before the cyclone.  The USAID/OFDA team noted that the 
pre-Nargis norm for shelter was typically a simple house made 
of local materials with minimal structural support, and 
therefore vulnerable during a major storm.  The houses that 
NGOs have built in collaboration with communities appear to 
 
RANGOON 00000108  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
be much sturdier and could withstand most storms, except in 
the case of a cyclone with an intensity and wind speed like 
Nargis.  The number of shelters built by international and 
local NGOs is far short of the total number of affected 
households.  Shelter assistance has been provided to 
approximately 150,000 households to date, of which 
approximately 120,000 has been provided by NGOs and UN 
agencies.  Most families were able to self recover using 
their own resources. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Government of Burma (GOB) has built an 
estimated 30,000 shelters that were provided mostly for 
families relocated to new locations.  The GOB shelters that 
the USAID/OFDA advisors visited appeared to be built with 
little consultation with the communities.  The GOB provided 
some shelters based on a "lottery" system, with affected 
households winning a draw receiving a government house.   The 
NGOs, on the other hand, used a transparent set of criteria 
for identifying vulnerable families and involving community 
members.  The GOB houses appeared to have little 
reinforcement for withstanding storms, and they were built 
close together in a grid pattern. 
 
 
FOOD AND WATER 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Access to clean water remains a problem for many 
communities in the Delta.  Long before Cyclone Nargis, many 
communities in the Delta lacked adequate drinking water and 
had to travel long distances, use poor quality water, or buy 
drinking water at a high cost.  The cyclone exacerbated these 
problems greatly.  People are bringing in water from long 
distances or buying water at rates as high as a fifth of 
their monthly income.  The USAID/OFDA advisors visited 
several ponds that NGOs have built or renovated with 
USAID/OFDA funding.  While a few of the ponds have saline 
water, most offer safe drinking water throughout the dry 
season, and new ponds will become functional in a few months 
after the next monsoon season starts. 
 
 
ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND AGRICULTURE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  According to the USAID/OFDA team, some 
international NGOs reported that agricultural production in 
some Delta areas has reached only about half of the level of 
production before Cyclone Nargis.  The availability of draft 
animals, especially water buffalo, remains far below the 
pre-Nargis level and will for many years.  Farmers who met 
with the USAID/OFDA advisors stressed a strong preference for 
draft animals over power tillers.  Access to credit remains a 
bottleneck for increasing production.  One unprecedented 
trend of concern is that prices of rice for consumption, 
which typically decrease after harvest, remain at the same 
high pre-harvest level. 
 
 
HEALTH 
------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  The USAID/OFDA team, implementing partners, and 
other organizations working in the Delta reported no recent 
 
RANGOON 00000108  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
outbreaks in infectious diseases or abnormal health issues 
among the affected population that the USAID/OFDA advisors 
visited.  Malnutrition rates appear to be "normal" for Burma 
pre-Nargis, according to information from UN agencies and 
NGOs, and based on USAID/OFDA observations and discussions in 
the communities.  Stunting remains a significant chronic 
problem.  There were no major diarrheal outbreaks.  The UN 
Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported an immunization rate of 
around 95 percent, based on GOB data.  However, the GOB 
figures are questioned by other organizations.  Most of the 
temporary emergency health intervention measures, including 
mobile clinics, have ceased.  Many people have to travel long 
distances to access any health care services, and the quality 
of the care is variable. 
 
 
FUTURE PREPAREDNESS 
------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  Many international and local NGOs and UN agencies 
have incorporated disaster risk reduction strategies into 
their humanitarian response to Cyclone Nargis.  Many 
communities have conducted exercises or received training for 
emergency situations.  They demonstrated a strong resilience 
during the immediate aftermath and recovery period, despite 
the low level of income and resources in the affected 
communities.  They are paying close attention to news, 
especially from radio, regarding storms heading for the 
Delta.  While focused on economic recovery, boats that NGOs 
have built and distributed also offer some communities more 
opportunities for evacuation.  Some international and local 
NGOs and UN agencies have constructed cyclone-resistant 
shelters in communities, particularly school buildings and 
religious structures.  The GOB has constructed 
cyclone-resistant shelters in some of the affected 
communities.  However, most of the rural communities, 
particularly smaller and more remote ones, have no shelter 
that could resist a cyclone or major storm. Some 
international and local agencies plan to continue to 
construct limited numbers of additional cyclone-resistant 
shelters. 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  Local NGOs and community-based organizations have 
a much greater capacity to respond to future disasters.  Much 
emphasis has been put on training local NGO staff on basic 
principles and specific methodologies related to disaster 
response.  Paung Ku, a consortium of local and international 
organizations in Burma, reported that the consortium has 
distributed small grants to more than 600 local groups. 
Based on follow-up monitoring, more than 87 percent of the 
USD 2.5 million that Paung Ku distributed went directly to 
village level groups in the form of grants, reaching more 
than half a million affected people. 
 
¶12.  (SBU)  Donors, international and local NGOs, and UN 
agencies generally reported good coordination.  The 
Tripartite Core Group, set up with support from the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the UN, and 
the GOB to coordinate and oversee assistance, has functioned 
well in the Burma context,  though the GOB's restriction on 
its mandate last March has limited its effectiveness since 
then.  Agencies reported general satisfaction with 
coordination efforts 
 
 
RANGOON 00000108  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
CONCLUSION 
---------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU)  USAID/OFDA's assistance, totaling approximately 
USD 35 million as part of the U.S. Government's total 
provision of approximately USD 75 million, has helped provide 
effective immediate emergency assistance and early recovery 
on a large scale.  USAID will soon launch a follow-on 
humanitarian assistance program of approximately USD 10 
million which will include grants to some of USAID/OFDA's 
partners in key humanitarian sectors.  In addition, a new 
multi-donor USD 120 million program will start soon and reach 
many vulnerable people in the Delta region with economic 
assistance.  USAID/OFDA staff will continue to maintain 
regular contact with partners and agencies on the ground and 
monitor the humanitarian situation in the country. 
USAID/OFDA will pay particular attention to the ongoing 
primary concerns of access to clean water, adequate shelter 
and nutritional status of vulnerable groups. 
DINGER