Irrawaddy-May 23

The United Nations launched on Tuesday an appeal for $333 million in emergency funding for 1.6 million people it said were affected after deadly Cyclone Mocha tore through Myanmar. Mocha brought lashing rain and winds of 195 km per hour (120 miles per hour) to Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh on May 14, collapsing buildings and turning streets into rivers. Myanmar’s junta has given a death toll of 148 people, mostly from the persecuted Rohingya minority in western Rakhine state. The UN’s humanitarian affairs office said it was seeking $333 million to help provide shelter, medical facilities, food and clean water ahead of the rainy season.

“We are now in a race against time to provide people with safe shelter in all affected communities and prevent the spread of water-borne disease,” Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan said in a statement. More than $200 million would come from the overall humanitarian aid plan for this year in Myanmar, the statement added, with $122 million sought to support new relief efforts for those affected by the cyclone. The state is home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, many of whom live in displacement camps following decades of ethnic conflict. Read more at: https://www.trtworld.com/asia/un-seeks-dollar333m-emergency-funding-for-cyclone-mocha-relief-in-myanmar-13346469