Friday, February 19, 2010

Myanmar : Half a Million Still Homeless in Delta / IOM

A man carries jerrycans in April 2009 toward a recently-built housing estate for survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Pyinsalu town in the Irrawaddy delta

GENEVA—The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says 500,000 people in Burma are still homeless after a devastating cyclone swept across the southwest of the country nearly two years ago.
IOM spokesman Chris Lom says the affected people have not been able to buy supplies to rebuild their houses because they need to spend the money on food.

He says the agency’s reconstruction program in the Irrawaddy delta is running out of money.

Lom said on Tuesday the agency is appealing for US $17 million to give basic shelter to about 250,000 people in the region. He said other aid agencies are trying to set up shelter for the rest of the homeless.

Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people in the South Asian nation in May 2008 and left some 2.4 million without a home.