4a Group1 Cyclone

Cyclone Nargis 4A group 1

About Cyclone Nargis • When did it develop? 27th April,2008

• Where did it develop ? In the central area of the Bay of Bengal

Tropical Cyclones • act as large heat engines. • water vapour condenses →cloud droplets →precipitation →heat is released →drives the storm. • the more heat that is released, the more powerful the storm will become.

How did it form?

The convergence of air at the lower levels and divergence high up imply a vertical circulation .A cyclone forms.

Formation • Low pressure in the warm Indian Ocean favoured the development of depression to Tropical Cyclone • known as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis.

• intensified from a Tropical Storm to a Category 2 cyclone. • weakened to Category 1 as it moved eastnortheast toward Burma, but by May 2, it had re-intensified to Category 3.

Path

Date

Place

Speed

Midnight May 2 Coast of Burma 215km/h May 2 Irrawaddy Delta 178-210km/h Midnight May 3 Yangon 130km/h

Impact - Bay of Bengal • 1) Sri Lanka Heavy rainfall → flooding , landslides 4500 people homeless • 2) India → fishing was not allowed Bangladesh →fininsh harvesting of crops promptly

Impact - Burma Total affected

2.4 million

Total death

77,738

Total missing

55,917

Estimated Displaced Persons in Settlements

555,000

before

after

• Aid agencies is slowly improving • Only a few can be sent to the victims • humanitarian assistance remains the leading concern • possibility of additional deaths due to disease outbreaks and malnutrition ↑

• more than 50% of health care structures has been damaged • 40% of the 2.4 million people affected by the storm are children • psychosocial support is needed

• Financial and material assistance over HK $14.58billion are sent to Burma • 350 metric tons of medical supplies and equipment were sent

Food Shortage • Irrawaddy Delta , the country’s main rice growing region , was seriouly affected • Fears country’s food security and potential pressure on global rice prices • Need to import rice • Rice price in Rangon rised by 50%

Obstacles --Political condition • military dictatorship • international assistance is not very welcomed • emergency aid & relief work cannot be provided efficiently • Temples are not allowed to provide aid

Obstacles--Developing country • instruments are not sophisticated enough to know about the typhoon clearly and accurately • Emergency plan is not mature enough

News form Reuters Fri May 23,2008

Junta agreement opens door to more Myanmar aid Myanmar's junta agreed on Friday to admit foreign aid workers of all nationalities to the delta area worst hit by Cyclone Nargis, in what the U.N. called a breakthrough for aiding survivors. "The general said he saw no reason why that should not happen ... as long as they were genuine humanitarian workers and it was clear what they were going to be doing," a U.N. official with Ban said. Asked whether the agreement on relief experts was a breakthrough, Ban replied: "Yes, I think so. He has agreed to allow all aid workers regardless of nationalities." The U.N. chief said he hoped the agreement "can produce results quickly. Implementation is the key." Disaster experts say that unless the generals open their doors, thousands more people in the Irrawaddy Delta could die of hunger and disease, adding to the nearly 134,000 reported killed or missing in Cyclone Nargis, which struck three weeks ago. European Union humanitarian commissioner Louis Michel expressed relief at the news. "It is now clear that our joint diplomatic efforts have delivered concrete results," he said in a statement. "We have no more time to lose, so it's imperative that the Myanmar authorities immediately provide the international community with the practical details of the agreement. The real work of providing life-saving assistance starts now."

Cyclone Heta • Tropical Cyclone Heta : • meandered America Samos in 2004. • It was a powerful Category 5 tropical cyclone.

Comparison between Heta and Nargis • Similarity

•Difference

• both a strong storm •Heta only caused one with winds over 150 fatality while Nargis caused 78,000 death miles per hour. •This is mainly due to • both brought heavy the better preparation rains of the countries towards the natural hazards.

• both of the storms caused the huge loss in the country. • However, the country which has a better preparation of the storms would definitely more capable of diminishing the deaths and loss.