Nearly 1,000 IDP homes damaged, destroyed by squalls in Arakan State as DMH warns of seasonal hazards

By DMG 21 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 April 2022, Sittwe

Some 900 houses at camps for internally displaced people (IPDs) were damaged or destroyed by strong winds on Wednesday in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw and Minbya townships.

More than 470 houses and a school were affected at three IDP camps in Mrauk-U, while over 410 houses were hard-hit at three IDP camps in Kyauktaw, and several houses were also damaged at an IDP camp in Minbya.

Some homes were completely levelled by the strong winds, while others were only partially damaged, according to camp managers, who said IDPs need cash assistance to rebuild.

“Many houses were damaged as it rained heavily and blew gales all of a sudden. Some 300 houses collapsed out of 691 houses,” U Than Aye, manager of Nyaung Chaung IDP camp, told DMG. “And IDPs are repairing them as much as they can.”

Many of the affected houses were built about three years ago with bamboo and thatch, and thus could not withstand the strong winds, said IDPs.

For the moment, IDPs are repairing damaged roofs with tarpaulin sheets and palm leaves, said Ashin Nandasar, the abbot of Mya Tanzaung Monastery, which hosts an IDP camp.

“The ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] provided more than 90 tarpaulin sheets yesterday. But it is not enough. And we have another problem because our drinking water sources were polluted by sand carried by the storm,” said the monk.

“Those whose houses were badly damaged are staying at the houses of others,” he added. 

Affected IDPs said they needed new shelter options before the proper onset of the rainy season next month.

Concerned township General Administration Departments, the ICRC, some international agencies and local civil society organisations are tallying the damages, according to IDPs.

The Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC) is also making a list of storm-hit IDP households. REC Secretary U Zaw Zaw Tun said: “IDPs have lost their houses while they are having financial hardship to feed themselves. We have a plan to provide emergency relief supplies to them, and authorities should also provide humanitarian supplies to them. They are in urgent need of shelters now.”

The director of the Arakan State Disaster Management Department, U Thurein Tun, hung up the phone when asked by DMG how the department planned to help the storm-hit IDPs.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology estimated that Wednesday’s storm included wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour.

“It was a thunderstorm, and it can happen at any time,” said the department’s deputy director, U Hla Tun.

U Hla Tun said similar weather events should be expected in the current pre-monsoon season period, with conditions possibly including strong winds, hail, and heavy rains.

A villager from Kyauktaw Township reportedly died when his boat collided with another vessel on the Kaladan River during the storm, according to local humanitarian group Phyu Sin Metta.

Besides the IDP camps, some permanent homes and schools were also damaged in Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw, with local residents likewise expressing hope that authorities would provide assistance to repair them.