Imagine standing
in your town while winds exceed 190kph? That day, the storm ripped through the delta city for more than 10 hours. 95% of homes were destroyed, in one village alone the death tole rose to 10,000. Homes
were flattened, trees uprooted, power lines down, water and fuel supplies destroyed. In the early hours after the storm, a network of 25,000 Myanmar Red Cross members stood among the devastation,
distributing emergency aid and bringing urgent medical attention to the wounded. Dubliner Joe Lowry reported live from the disaster zone, "We have already airlifted 14 tonnes of
humanitarian aid, distributing tarpaulins, drinking water, clothing, food and hygiene kits to the worst affected areas. Children, the elderly, the sick and injured are the most vulnerable".President of the Myanmar Red Cross Society, Prof Dr Tha Hla Shwe spoke how he was inspired by stories of dedicated Red Cross volunteers when he said, "Many of our own staff and volunteers
have been affected with personal tragedy and hardship yet they continue to come to support the day to day operations of the Red Cross in our country."Since the disaster, thanks to your
support, over 327,500 people have received aid from the Red Cross Movement but with the disaster affecting 2.4 million, our work has only just begun. Please give what you can today and let us reach
those people who need our help today.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Delegates of the Canary Island pavilion at the Expo 2008 international exposition on "Water and Sustainable Development" observe a minute of silence in remembrance of the 153 victims of the Spanair ...
