Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win addresses National Natural Disaster Management Committee Meeting (2/2024)
NAY PYI TAW September 16
National Disaster Management Committee Meeting (2/2024) was held at the assembly hall of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Nay Pyi Taw this afternoon and Chairman of the National Natural Management Committee Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win delivered an address at the meeting.
Also present at the meeting were union ministers, the chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Council, deputy ministers, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, departmental heads and officials while regional and state chief ministers, who are regional/state natural disaster management committees chairmen, joined the meeting via video conference.
First, the Vice-Senior General delivered an address, saying the purpose of the meeting is to carry out natural disaster management in connection with recent floods more rapidly and effectively. Due to the Yagi Typhoon, Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar suffered consequences. In Myanmar, floods were caused in some states and regions including Nay Pyi Taw. Regional and state disaster management committees are providing the needs of the flood victims rapidly. It is stated in the effective order of the National Natural Disaster Management Committee that relevant regional and state natural disaster management committees are required to take management measures.
There are two parts in natural disaster response and although floods occurred in Kachin State, Sagaing Region, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyawady Region in the early rainy season, measures taken by relevant region and state natural disaster management committees were Scenario-1. Expansion of affected areas and limited resources of states and regions to respond to natural disasters and the need to link efforts of states and regions to offer effective assistance have led to Scenario-2, in which the union has to take responsibility. The Yagi Typhoon hit Vietnam severely on 7 September at a speed of 130-mile per hour and the remnant clouds of the storm spread to neighbouring Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar received record-breaking rain falls. What is significant is that when rain clouds spread to Myanmar, a depression was formed between the Bay of Bengal and India on 9 and 10 September. Due to the depression, it rained more heavily in Myanmar on 11 and 12 September.
Tatkon Township received recorded rain falls and led to unprecedented floods, landslides and flow of garbage and silt in the Nawin Creek, Mone Creek and Kinthar Creek.
Moreover, some states and regions suffered floods due to the Yagi storm and affected areas in five states and regions expanded. As a result, Scenario-2 has been implemented since 12 September by forming the Disaster Management Committee.
On 13 September, a DMC meeting was held and decisions were made. On 14 September, an emergency meeting led by myself was held in the Nay Pyi Taw Council Office and instructions on necessary coordination were made.
Following the receding floods on September 12 in the Nay Pyi Taw Council area, debris clearing operations have begun, while natural disaster management committees in other regions and states continue rescue, relief, cleaning, and rehabilitation efforts.
In relation to this incident, the relevant organizations and officials had to go to the flooded areas with difficulty for the relief operations. As of the September 15 report, the floods resulted in 47 deaths in Nay Pyi Taw, 5 in Kayin State, 76 in Mandalay Region, and 1 in Ayeyawady Region, affecting 69 townships across seven states and regions.
The number of deaths and missing persons still needs to be confirmed and published.
A total of 388 temporary flood relief camps have been set up in nine states and regions, where officials and donors are providing nutritious food, clean drinking water, and clothing.
The Chairman of the State Administration Council, the Prime Minister, conducted a field inspection of the flooded areas in the Nay Pyi Taw Council area from September 12 and addressed the needs despite busy schedule. As he directed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation to issue information statements so that the public does not have to worry about irrigation dams and people from townships, wards and villages where floods may occur to be evacuated to safety in advance, so the people in the Sittaung River Basin of Bago Region were able to be evacuated to safety in advance.
The regional and state management teams must provide clean drinking water and healthy and nutritious food when visiting the relief camps. It is needed to cooperate with the organizations responsible for the reopening of offices, schools and hospitals that were temporarily closed in flood affected areas, as soon as possible. Donations and materials donated by generous donors for the flood victims must be properly managed and distributed so that the flood victims can receive them equitably.
The government is sending five types of healthy food and drinking water to temporary natural disaster relief camps, including some temporary flood relief camps where donors cannot reach them.
Officials from the management team organized according to the relevant regions need to visit the people in the flood-affected areas and give an encourage speech and support them by focusing on their needs. As the National Disaster Management Committee has experience in dealing with natural disasters, it is necessary to discuss the issues to be followed up in order to provide the best solutions.
When the Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar, 12 working committees were formed to provide the best possible solution, and the necessary committees must be formed in this process as well and they must continue to do what is necessary. A team to take stock of the inundation of state-owned office buildings, residences and other buildings, agricultural land and the death of animals will be formed, and only if the damages can be collected correctly, the restoration and rehabilitation works will be able to be carried out.
In terms of international aid, there was unbounded aid to Myanmar. Now some of the humanitarian assistances sent by the ASEAN will arrive, and the AHA Center’s In-Country Liaison Team (ICLT) will visit Myanmar to collaborate on disaster information sharing and enhance international support efforts.
At today’s meeting, it is necessary for the working committees concerned and governments of regions and states to efficiently discuss measures to be taken currently and future measures regarding the damage caused by the flooding.
Afterwards, Union Minister Lt. Gen. Yar Pyae and Union Minister Dr. Soe Win, who are vice-chairmen of the committee, briefed on the state of losses of lives of people and the missing in nine regions and states including Nay Pyi Taw Council due to Typhoon Yagi, damage of office buildings, hospitals, schools, houses, road and bridges, damage and loss seasonal crops plantations, measures on the field work being taken to collect statistics on the damage and loss of the people and the missing and preparation for rescue and cooperation measures.
Then, Deputy Minister U Soe Kyi, secretary of the working committee on national natural disaster management, briefed on the measures being taken upon the decisions made at the coordination meeting of the working committee, obtaining and spending the funds, and its balance.
Next, union ministers who are members of the committee, the Chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Council, chief ministers of region and state, deputy ministers and officials reported on the damage and losses on a regionand-state basis, the measures to be taken for relief and rehabilitation, systematic distribution of cash donations and supplies to the people affected by the floods, plans to provide necessary assistance on replanting of crops suitable to the climate for the damaged cultivated acres, matters related to information and exchange of technology, and preparedness for emergency response to natural disasters and discussed them.
Then, the Director General of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology of the Ministry of Transport and Communications briefed on the occurrence of the extraordinary weather and the weather conditions that may occur in the next 10 days.
Afterwards, the Vice-Senior General made coordination on the reports and discussions and gave concluding remarks.
Due to the powerful depression that occurred in the northwestern Bay of Bengal and the intensity of Typhoon Yagi that occurred in the South China Sea, floods and landslides occurred in Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory and other regions and states apart from Taninthayi Region and Rakhine and Kachin states during the period from September 9 to 15. Due to the floods and landslides, according to the statistics on September 15, 1,083 houses, 146 office buildings, 1023 schools, 382 religious buildings, 177 damages of road bridge, and 963 electricity poles, 82 communication towers were damaged, and the floods and landslides left 172 people dead, 38 missing and 105,388 animals dead. It is learnt that the Disaster Management Committee has been formed, and a 24-hour emergency office has been opened from time to time in order to carry out the rescue, relief, and rehabilitation operations in the flood-affected areas.