IDPs in need of emergency assistance after strong winds sweep through parts of Arakan State

By DMG 20 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
20 April 2022, Mrauk-U 

Some camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as homes and schools in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U, Minbya and Kyauktaw townships, were damaged by strong winds on Wednesday afternoon, according to locals.

More than 30 makeshift tents at Mya Tanzaung IDP camp in Mrauk-U were completely destroyed and the roofs of more than 150 tents were partially damaged, said Venerable Nandasara, an abbot of nearby Mya Tanzaung Monastery.

“The ruined tents are rotting and it is time to rebuild them. Where they were not sturdy enough, the strong winds blew and the tents collapsed. Some storm victims have been temporarily housed in monasteries,” the abbot told DMG.

Many tents at Mrauk-U Township’s Sinbawkaing IDP camp, which hosts more than 700 households, were destroyed by the strong winds, said camp manager U Nyi Pu, who added that an accounting of damages is still being compiled.

“Some makeshift tents were badly damaged by the strong winds. We are compiling the extent of the damage. For those whose houses were destroyed, we have prepared accommodation in a nearby monastery,” he explained.

IDPs in Mrauk-U’s Myo Oo Gaung displacement camp are in trouble as 160 out of 259 tents were destroyed by the strong winds, said U Win Naing, the manager of the camp.

“The damaged tents are being repaired by using tarpaulins donated by the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross]. We would like to ask the concerned departments and donors at home and abroad to help the IDPs as much as possible,” he added.

U Hla Phyu, in-charge of the Wah Taung IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township, said more than 70 homes had been destroyed by the gusty weather, adding that it was difficult to rebuild the affected shelters in a timely manner.

“Makeshift tents were completely destroyed and financial assistance is needed to renovate these tents. IDPs already did not even have enough food, and their homes were destroyed by the strong winds,” he said.

The gale-force winds also damaged a high school in Hsin Oh Chaing village, Kyauktaw Township, where the corrugated iron roof of the school building was blown off, locals said. The winds also damaged regular homes and shops in the affected townships, according to locals.

“Some shops were destroyed by the gusty winds and the corrugated iron roofs of homes were blown off,” said Daw Ma Kyawt Hlaing, a resident of Pan Myaung village in Minbya Township.