Cyclone Nargis hit the Ayeyarwady Delta and Yangon Division three months ago. "But there is still much work to do if we are to adequately support the children of the Delta," said World Vision Response Manager, Judy Moore. In response to the disaster, the child-focused agency has established its largest-ever number of child centres in a single country.

According to the United Nations children's agency, nearly 700,000 children are still in need of long-term assistance following Cyclone Nargis. "We need to sustain our efforts so children and their families can make a complete recovery from the devastation [wrought] by Cyclone Nargis," said a spokesperson for UNICEF.

The recently released Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) identified ongoing threats to the wellbeing of children following May's cyclone. Among the most significant threats highlighted in the report were child labour, school dropouts, malnutrition, and trafficking.

Some 2.4 million people were affected in the storm which hit Myanmar three months ago, leaving 140,000 dead and missing. Forty to fifty percent are believed to have been children.

The youngest affected

"Children are among the most vulnerable after a disaster like Cyclone Nargis and require special attention to see them through the hard times that follow," said Moore. According to the PONJA report, children are also "at greater risk of abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect."

In response to these threats, World Vision is currently running 84 Child Friendly Spaces, serving over 10,000 children across Yangon and the Delta. These centres for children provide psychosocial assistance to those affected, and are supplied with toys, playing materials, and equipment, providing the young participants with a safe place to play and recover from the affects of Cyclone Nargis.

This intervention represents the largest number of “spaces” that World Vision has ever established in a single country following an emergency.

"Child-Friendly Spaces provide a safe space for children to play and learn and meet with peers," said World Vision Myanmar Protection Manager, Makiba Yamano. "We help them express their feelings and better cope with their unusual experiences," she continued.

Ongoing threats

In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, many children became separated from their families. A vital role played by the Child-Friendly Spaces has been to identify particularly vulnerable children, especially those separated or unaccompanied. World Vision has so far identified and registered 47 such children and closely monitors the living conditions and safety of these children.

With the planting season now over, much farmland remains un-sown. The destruction of Nargis did not spare the tools, animals, or seed needed to sow rice. The salt water washed in by the storm has also rendered acres of land unusable. Hundreds of thousands of residents of the Delta will consequently remain food insecure for months or even years to come. And once again, it is the children who are most at risk from this, with the threat of malnutrition facing the youngest residents of the affected regions if adequate support is not provided, according to PONJA.

Also of great concern to World Vision is the pressure on children to work. Children as young as 11 are under pressure not to attend school and to join the work force instead. "With the economic impact of Nargis hitting many families hard, children risk having to take up work and contribute to the family’s income, rather than remaining in the classroom to learn and grow," said World Vision’s Yamano.

With many schools destroyed and teachers lost in the Cyclone, receiving a quality education has been in jeopardy for many children affected by Nargis. World Vision is among many NGOs looking to provide temporary schooling to ensure children receive the education they deserve.

• PONJA report supported by ASEAN, the United Nations, and NGOs including World Vision expected to highlight urgent need for livelihood activities
• Landless families most vulnerable
• World Vision providing hand tractors and fuel

Monday’s launch of an assessment into the conditions facing Myanmar’s cyclone-affected communities is expected to highlight the urgent need for livelihood recovery activities. The Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) is being launched on the 21st of July in Yangon and Singapore.

International NGO, World Vision, has been providing food aid, shelter material, safe drinking water, and conducting child protection activities in response to the cyclone aftermath.

Livelihoods recovery a crucial need

The findings of PONJA are expected to highlight the need to get people back on their feet through livelihood support, a cornerstone to recovery. The findings reflect World Vision's long-term response, as the aid agency focuses on livelihood interventions.

“As we look beyond the initial relief response,” says World Vision’s Response Manager, Judy Moore, “it’s critical that we support those affected to get back on their feet earning an income once again.”

Farmers lost tools, animals, and seeds in the disaster which struck the Ayeyawaddy Delta and Yangon Division. World Vision has already been providing hand tractors and fuel to farmers in Bogolay Township. Many fields were inundated with salt water and without de-salinating the fields or obtaining salt-resistant seeds, planting will be difficult.

“This season’s planting period is coming to an end,” said Moore. “For those farmers that are unable to plant in time, support will be needed for months to come.”

World Vision is particularly concerned about landless farming families who are likely to be among the most vulnerable.

"Those who are landless or own just a small plot of land are the hardest hit,” said a World Vision Field Manager, who has been in the Delta since May. “With very limited job opportunities and ruined rice paddies, they are very concerned about what the future will hold,” he continued.

He added that although some Delta farmers had managed to plant, despite very limited resources, many did not expect much from this planting season. ''They plant to eat, not for income," said the Field Manager.

May’s Cyclone Nargis was one of the worst natural disasters to affect a single country in decades. Some138,000 people were left dead and missing, and a further 2.4 million were affected.

Assessing the impact

Before offering more financial support for the response to Cyclone Nargis, governments and international donors demanded a comprehensive assessment into the conditions facing those affected.

In answer to this call, the PONJA was conducted with the support of the Government of Myanmar, ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the United Nations, and NGOs responding to Nargis, including World Vision.

World Vision is currently responding to the disaster, and will continue to do so as part of a multi-year programme. Priority will be given to livelihoods recovery, including agricultural development and economic diversification.

World Vision programmes will also prioritise water and sanitation, and child protection activities.

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Five planeloads of World Vision’s relief supplies landed in Yangon on Friday 20 June. The delivery, including 20,000 tarpaulins, represents a final push of relief provisions before operations turn to longer-term needs.

World Vision’s relief efforts are being carried out despite heavy rains, poor road conditions and poor communications. The supplies from the airlifts will allow World Vision to speed up distributions, which are targeting 220,000 beneficiaries across Yangon and the Delta.

Travel authorisation is required for international staff travelling to the Delta region. World Vision has so far sent six international staff to the Delta, and is awaiting permission for two more to travel over the coming week. World Vision’s national staff have been able to freely access cyclone-affected regions as the travel constraints only apply to international staff.

'Communities coping'

Reports from World Vision staff in the Delta suggest that communities are coping with the situation, and are beginning to turn towards rebuilding their lives.

World Vision’s Relief Manager, Steve Goudswaard, recently returned from three days in the Delta and explained that the community resilience has to do with the immediate mobilisation of efforts by those affected by the disaster.

"What we found were communities did not simply wait for relief to arrive, they turned to each other for support while local aid workers and volunteers began distributing locally sourced goods," Goudswaard said.

As more aid flows in, organisations like World Vision continue to work to the best of their ability to ensure international warnings of disease outbreak do not become a reality. The past seven weeks have seen staff tirelessly distributing food, clothing, cooking utensils, water treatment systems, and health supplies to some 350,000 people.

Nearly 600 metric tons of food has been distributed to more than 280,000 people and World Vision is also providing support to affected children through 44 Child Friendly Spaces.

One month on from the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, affected communities in Myanmar are finding the resilience to survive and rebuild with assistance from aid agencies and local organisations.

On Friday, a team of international relief specialists from World Vision’s Global Rapid Response team headed into the Ngapudaw region of the Irrawaddy Delta to assess existing programmes and future needs for the people there.

World Vision cyclone response manager Steve Goudswaard said afterwards he was amazed by the extent to which communities were pooling their resources to move forward:

"One village we visited had been completely flattened. They lost 237 out of 603 people there. The tragedy of the impact was etched on their faces but people were already rebuilding with whatever they could find."

"They were mapping out where their homes would be rebuilt, and cleaning out contaminated water points because they knew how important clean safe water was."

Communities are still in desperate need according to Goudswaard. Some need emergency distribution of food, clean water and shelter. Others need seeds and tools to help them get crops in before the end of the planting season in July.

"The community are the first responders in any emergency. In the Delta, they are working with local organisations, especially monasteries, and aid agencies to help protect their own lives and start building for the future."

"World Vision are working in partnership with them too, to help provide what they need now and in the months to come."

The humanitarian community has seen an increase in access for staff and supplies since the agreement between the United Nations, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the government of Myanmar, but still faces challenges in scaling up.

Access is still restrictive for international staff who are required to apply days in advance for permission to enter the Delta. Physical conditions still pose a major challenge with poor transport and infrastructure blocking access to many communities in need.

To date, World Vision staff have concentrated on the immediate needs of survivors, with food, shelter, clean water and child protection among the main priorities. Despite the difficulties in reaching affected communities, World Vision has provided assistance to over 250,000 people, and hopes to reach nearly half a million with relief and rehabilitation in the first six months of response.

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World Vision’s humanitarian response in Myanmar has been strengthened by the arrival of additional relief experts and supplies in the country.

Five international World Vision staff with expertise in emergency distributions, logistics, water and sanitation, and human resources arrived in Myanmar on 21 May. They will provide valuable support for World Vision staff in Myanmar who are already responding to the emergency.

In addition to technical expertise, World Vision is sending in relief flights loaded with extra supplies, including 2.3 million water purification tablets, 5,000 tarpaulins, 5,000 kitchen sets, 5,000 hygiene kits, 2,000 mosquito nets, and two water purification systems that can purify up to 15,000 litres of water per hour. Two relief flights have already landed and two more will follow in the coming days.

Progress on approving visas for relief staff was made earlier this week when United Nations and foreign diplomats met representatives from the Myanmar Government. Myanmar agreed to accept more foreign relief assistance and for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate the international relief effort.

Life-saving aid reaches 135,000 people

World Vision’s 580 staff in Myanmar have so far assisted 135,000 people, distributing 188 metric tons of rice, 40,300 litres of clean water and survival items including tarpaulins, mosquito nets, clothing, blankets, buckets, cooking utensils and medicines.

Staff are now distributing emergency supplies in 15 townships, seven in Yangon and eight in the Irrawaddy delta area. World Vision has complete control of the supply and distribution of its aid.

World Vision could help close to 500,000 people over the next six months if it is allowed greater access to the hardest-hit areas in the delta region and to bring in additional essential supplies. Overall access to the delta remains limited, and it is hampering efforts to assist those who need it the most.

Child friendly spaces operating

World Vision has set up 41 child friendly spaces – 37 in Yangon and four in the delta area – to help children cope with the devastating consequences of the disaster. Many children have been orphaned, injured or made vulnerable to disease and World Vision's priorities are to ensure that children are safe and that their recovery is supported.

In a caring and supportive environment facilitated by trained World Vision volunteers, the child friendly spaces provide children with a safe place to play games, learn through informal education, share their experiences and regain a sense of normality.

The spaces, catering for up to 100 children each, have been set up in schools and other community buildings.

Tim Costello returns from Myanmar

World Vision Australia Chief Executive Tim Costello returned from Myanmar on 17 May and he spoke about the situation on the ground.

"What I saw was human suffering on an unprecedented level. This cyclone is simply enormous. It is devastating," Tim explained.

"World Vision is getting aid through. We are saving lives – we have reached over 100,000 people. But the truth is the people are suffering and they are suffering enormously. Tragically there are still tens of thousands of people yet to be reached with aid. It is now a race against the weather as monsoon rains settle in.

"It’s going to take years for the people of Myanmar to recover. The cyclone is going to have a bigger impact on Myanmar than the tsunami did on Sri Lanka, Thailand or Indonesia. The cyclone went 250 kilometres inland where as the tsunami only went a few kilometres inland."

Relief followed by recovery

World Vision’s short-term emergency relief response will be followed by a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase which could take several years.

Visit Reuters Alertnet for further news updates.

Five international World Vision relief experts have arrived in Yangon to support staff in Myanmar responding to the cyclone and scale up our aid delivery. The technical staff arrived on Tuesday and will be based in Yangon, providing expertise in management, water and sanitation, programme support, operations and human resources.

The progress on visa approval was made earlier this week as diplomats from the United Nations and other nations met with representatives from the Government of Myanmar. Myanmar has agreed to accept more foreign relief assistance and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be coordinating the international relief effort.

Life saving assistance reaches 135,000 people

World Vision has provided life saving assistance to more than 135,000 people and is now distributing emergency supplies in 15 townships, seven in Yangon and eight in the Irrawaddy delta.

The emergency aid World Vision has been providing includes over 188 metric tonnes of rice, 40,300 litres of drinking water and emergency kits including tarpaulins, mosquito nets, clothing, blankets, buckets and cooking utensils.

Relief goods have been purchased in-country and World Vision is planning to bring in international aid flights with relief supplies in the next few days. World Vision has complete control of the supply and distribution of our aid.

Child-friendly spaces in operation

World Vision has also set up 40 child friendly spaces: 36 in Yangon and four in the delta area to help children cope with the devastating consequences of the disaster. Many children have been orphaned, injured or made vulnerable to disease and World Vision's priorities are to ensure that children are safe and their recovery is supported.

Through a caring and supportive environment facilitated by trained World Vision volunteers, the child-friendly spaces provide children with a safe place to play games, learn through informal education, share their experiences and regain a sense of normality.

The spaces, catering for up to 100 children each, have been set up in schools, community buildings and other sites.

Tim Costello returns from Myanmar

Tim returned from Myanmar on Saturday and discusses the situation on the ground:

“What I saw was human suffering on an unprecedented level. This cyclone is simply enormous. It is devastating.

“We held discussions with Government officials and were able to get a letter giving us unhindered access to all areas for our national staff.

“World Vision is getting aid through. We are saving lives – we have reached over 100,000 people. But the truth is the people are suffering and they are suffering enormously. Tragically there are still tens of thousands of people yet to be reached with aid. It is now a race against the weather as monsoon rains settle in.

“It’s going to take years for the people of Myanmar to recover. The cyclone is going to have a bigger impact on Myanmar than the Tsunami did on Sri Lanka, Thailand or Indonesia. The cyclone went 250 km inland where as the tsunami only went a few kilometres inland.”

Relief followed by recovery

World Vision’s short-term emergency relief response will be followed by a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase which could take several years.

Visit Reuters Alertnet for further news updates.

As the Asia region reels from two massive disasters, World Vision is on the ground, providing emergency aid to survivors of both the Myanmar cyclone and China earthquake.

In Myanmar, the death toll is reported to have risen to over 77,739 people and over 55,000 are still reported as missing. 2.5 million people are estimated to be severely affected by the impact of the cyclone and torrential rain over the last two days has compounded the already desperate situation for survivors.

World Vision has been working around the clock to assist 117,000 people with life-saving assistance including 25,000 litres of water, 98 metic tonnes of food, and other emergency supplies. The plan is to increase the response to provide life-saving aid to nearly half a million cyclone survivors.

Aid delivery underway

World Vision is now distributing emergency supplies in 15 townships, seven in Yangon and eight in the Irrawaddy delta.

The aid deliveries began to move after the government permitted access to those in need. World Vision has complete control of the supply and distribution of its aid.

In the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta area, World Vision is providing 25,000 people with emergency kits. Each kit includes tarpaulins, mosquito nets, children and adult clothing, blankets, buckets and cooking utensils. Fifty kilogram bags of rice, provided by the United Nations World Food Programme, are also being provided.

In the Yangon area, 78,000 people have received rice, water and other basic relief items such as blankets and clothing.

World Vision has established an operations base in the eastern part of the delta in a town called Pyapon - about four hours’ drive from Yangon - through which aid is beginning to flow. Staff have been trucking the emergency kits, assembled in Yangon, down to this operations base. Pyapon is close to three of the worst affected townships in the delta region.

Although relief goods are currently being purchased in-country, World Vision hopes to bring in aid flights from Dubai in the next few days, as soon as we receive government clearance.

Child-friendly spaces

World Vision is setting up 37 child-friendly spaces in and around Yangon to help children cope with the devastating consequences of the disaster. Many children have been orphaned, injured or made vulnerable to disease and World Vision's priorities are to ensure that children are safe and their recovery is supported.

Through a caring and supportive environment facilitated by trained World Vision volunteers, the child-friendly spaces provide children with a safe place to play games, learn through informal education, share their experiences and regain a sense of normality.

Samson Jeyakumar, World Vision's child protection specialist, said, "Thousands of children are emotionally vulnerable and may be at risk of psychological trauma after witnessing unimaginable horrors such as losing loved ones and having to flee their homes. "Child-friendly spaces will enable children to return to some sort of familiarity and help establish a routine, while parents try to deal with the practical realities of displacement."

The spaces, catering for up to 100 children each, are being set up in schools, community buildings and other sites.

World Vision has set up such spaces in response to previous disasters including the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake in 2005.

Relief followed by recovery

World Vision’s short-term emergency relief response will be followed by a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase which could take several years.

"Already it is clear this disaster will have an impact on Myanmar the equal of anything witnessed in countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia after the tsunami."
Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision

World Vision has been working around the clock in Myanmar to assist more than 100,000 people with emergency supplies and is planning to increase the response to provide life-saving aid to nearly half a million cyclone survivors.

The aid deliveries began to move after the government permitted access to those in need. World Vision has complete control of the supply and distribution of its aid.

In the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta area World Vision is now providing 25,000 people with emergency kits. Each kit includes tarpaulins, mosquito nets, children's and adult clothing, blankets, buckets and cooking utensils. Fifty kilogram bags of rice, provided by the United Nations World Food Programme, are also being provided.

In the Yangon area 78,000 people have received rice, water and other basic relief items such as blankets and clothing. World Vision has also set up child friendly spaces in Yangon to provide a safe place for children to learn and play.

World Vision has established an operations base in the eastern part of the delta in a town called Pyapon - about four hours’ drive from Yangon - through which aid is beginning to flow. Staff have been trucking the emergency kits, assembled in Yangon, down to this operations base. Pyapon is close to three of the worst affected townships in the delta region.

Although relief goods are currently being purchased in-country, World Vision hopes to bring in aid flights from Dubai in the next few days, as soon as it receives government clearance.

This short-term emergency relief response will be followed by a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase which could take several years.

Visit Reuters Alertnet for further news updates.

The lives of thousands of cyclone survivors in Myanmar are at extreme risk as people scramble out of the shattered delta region to find food and shelter.

A World Vision assessment team has visited 26 shelters across Myaung Mya, an area some 50km north of the devasted town of Labutta. They found displaced people living in appalling conditions in make-shift shelters and camps where overcrowding and unsanitary conditions are prevalent.

As thousands of villagers leave the hardest-hit areas of the Irrawaddy Delta, they embark on a journey where there is almost no food or shelter and water is contaminated.

World Vision staff says some 30,000 people in Myaung Mya are seeking food, water and medical attention. Children – many of them orphans – are suffering from fever, diarrhoea and respiratory infections.

Samson Jeyakumar, a World Vision program manager, said, “In this situation, the most vulnerable people are children under five because they have the highest mortality rates in emergency situations and suffer the effects most quickly.”

World Vision has been supplying clean water to survivors in the Irrawaddy area. We have also started chlorinating wells, providing water tanks and disinfecting camp sites with bleaching powder. Meanwhile, in Yangon, we have assisted more than 78,000 people with food, clean water and other relief supplies. Diesel fuel is being distributed to operate water pumps. World Vision will also begin setting up seventeen child friendly spaces in the Yangon area starting today.

World Vision has also distributed sterile dressings, anti-bacterial medicines, mosquito nets and disinfectants, but additional resources are needed. We are currently using relief supplies available from our pre-existing programs and will purchase additional resources as long as supplies are available, while awaiting permits and clearances to airlift supplies from our Dubai warehouse.

While World Vision has hundreds of staff on the ground already delivering aid, we are working towards obtaining visas to enable our team of international relief experts to provide logistical and other technical support to local staff to ensure a rapid scale up of response.

Visit Reuters Alertnet for further news updates.

Conditions are worsening in Myanmar as the death toll continues to rise and survivors suffer from the lack of essential supplies such as clean water, food, and shelter. The official death toll has reached 23,335 people and reports fear this could rise to 100,000, with 37,000 people still missing.

Speaking from Yangon, Tim Costello describes the impact of the cyclone:

"It’s like a giant whipper snipper has gone over this whole city. Power lines are down, absolutely enormous trees have been uprooted, billboards have been flattened, and I am in Yangon, which isn’t even the epicentre by any stretch of the imagination."

The spread of disease is an immediate threat as hundreds of thousands of people struggle to cope with living in camps, schools, monasteries and in damaged homes without enough food and in unsanitary conditions.

"On the road to Bogalay, I saw people camped by the roadside. Already there are signs of malaria and skin infections," says Tim. "Beyond those camps there are still people we have not reached seven days after the cyclone."

"However, we are getting life-saving aid to people. Yesterday I attended two World Vision rice distributions on the outskirts of Yangon, each to more than 3,000 people. We are still able to purchase relief goods inside the country. What we must do now is turn this trickle of aid into a flood."

World Vision has so far helped almost 78,000 people living in the Yangon area, providing rice, water and other relief items. We are currently using relief supplies available from our pre-existing programs and will purchase additional resources as long as supplies are available while awaiting permits and clearances to airlift supplies from our Dubai warehouse.

While World Vision has hundreds of staff on the ground already delivering aid we are working towards obtaining visas to enable our team of international relief experts to provide logistical and other technical support to local staff to ensure a rapid scale up of response.

"With every day I spend here, my sense of urgency increases. There are thousands of people receiving aid every day, yet there are tens of thousands more still to be helped."

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"This is a huge humanitarian crisis unfolding. Every day we start to get a new look at the horror and the suffering."
Tim Costello, CEO World Vision Australia.

World Vision’s CEO Tim Costello arrived in Myanmar yesterday to meet with World Vision staff and officials and visit World Vision emergency operations.

Tim visited a World Vision food distribution operation in a north-west suburb of Yangon and explained, "Some three thousand people were receiving rice (at the distribution). Because their houses were damaged, many of them are living in halls and Buddhist temples."

According to Tim, the current response is distribution of emergency supplies, "The great challenge as our supplies are depleted is to renew those, either from outside or from here. Buying food stocks inside is becoming very, very difficult. Prices are through the roof because of scarcity of supplies so that’s the next challenge."

The death toll in Myanmar has risen to 22,997 people and with 42,000 people still missing the death toll is still expected to rise significantly. Entire villages in the delta region are reportedly still submerged with flooding. Several hundred thousand people are homeless as a result of this disaster.

In the last five days World Vision staff on the ground have been providing emergency supplies to almost 78,000 people in the Yangon area, including rice, drinking water, medicine, clothing, blankets and tarpaulins.

World Vision has 583 staff in Myanmar who have been responding to the crisis and is working towards securing visas for our international relief experts to assist with the response.

Visit Reuters Alertnet for further news updates.

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar on 2 May has reached to over 22,500 people and is still expected to rise considerably. 42,000 people are still reported as missing and up to two million people have been affected by the disaster.

According to news reports more deaths were caused by a tidal wave than the storm itself. The wave was up to 3.5 metres high and swept away houses in low-lying villages. As many as 10,000 people died in one coastal town alone.

Cyclone Nargis wreaks havoc in Yangon.

The spread of disease is an immediate threat as hundreds of thousands of people struggle to cope with living in camps, schools, monasteries and in damaged homes without enough food and in unsanitary conditions.

World Vision has over 580 staff on the ground in Myanmar and has begun distributing emergency relief items including food, water and non-food items. World Vision is planning to distribute aid to 250,000 people in the initial phase of response. Assessment teams have also been deployed to the hardest-hit areas to determine critical needs.

Supplies housed in World Vision’s Dubai warehouse facility are ready to be dispatched via an airlift to Myanmar. Stock ready to go includes 25,000 blankets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, water containers, and tents in addition to 20 water purification units and tents to set up child friendly spaces.

According to World Vision’s regional HIV and AIDS advisor, Dr Kyi Minn, "The situation is worse than the tsunami. From the TV pictures shot from the helicopters you can see piles of dead bodies."

Cyclone Nargis is the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people died in Bangladesh.

World Vision has today launched a major appeal to provide emergency relief to millions of people displaced and homeless after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region on 2 May.

"The country has been paralysed and all infrastructure has been wiped out. Villages in the southwest delta region have been completely flattened. People are finding whatever shelter they can until aid arrives," said World Vision Chief Executive Tim Costello.

Cyclone Nargis hit the southern delta regions about 250 kilometres southwest of Yangon. The storm has dissipated after pounding the country with ten hours of rain, packing winds of 190 kilometres per hour at its peak.

Almost 90 per cent of the region around Laputto has been wiped out.

World Vision's emergency teams arrived overnight at the request of the Government of Myanmar. Immediate response will be to distribute emergency food and shelter and assess longer-term needs.

"We are still trying to get to the worst hit region. There are massive obstacles to reach these parts. Roads are impassable and communications are down. This is a catastrophe for a small nation."

World Vision has 583 staff in country and is now mobilising all available humanitarian aid into the region.