ADB may support needs assessment after cyclone in Myanmar
22/5/2008 16:51
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is exploring the possibility of providing
experts to conduct an on- the-ground assessment of post-cyclone rehabilitation
and reconstruction needs in Myanmar, the lender said today.
Based on the
findings of the assessment, other additional assistance measures may be
considered, ADB said in a press release.
Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis,
which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states --
Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin -- on May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy
and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and infrastructural
damage.
According to an updated official death toll, as many as 77,738 people
have been killed with 55,917 still missing, totaling 133, 655, in the disaster.
The number of the injured went up to 19,359.
It is Southeast Asia's worst
natural disaster since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which killed more than
160,000 people, the majority in Indonesia's Aceh province.
ADB, headquartered
in Manila and established in 1966, is an international development finance
institution whose mission is to help its developing members reduce poverty and
improve the quality of life of their people. ADB is owned and financed by its 67
members, of which 48 (including Myanmar) are from the region and 19 are from
other parts of the globe. Its main instruments for helping its developing
members are low interest loans, grants, advice, and knowledge.
Xinhua
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