Disaster: Six Days After Nargis, Burma’s Junta Continues to Block International Aid

On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy delta and wiped out entire villages as it left a path of destruction across five regions. Nearly twenty-four million people inhabited the areas affected by the storm, with estimates of dead ranging from 70,000 to 200,000 and up to 2.5 million homeless.

The international community pledged tens of millions of dollars in monetary and material assistance while Burma’s military junta—the SPDC—dragged its heels and stymied international aid efforts. By preventing critical and timely humanitarian aid from reaching survivors, the SPDC has put hundreds of thousands of risk of disease and death.

Disaster, written by Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative grantee the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN), explores the chronology of the worst cyclone disaster to hit Asia since 1991.