In this May 1, 2008, visible image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, Cyclone Nargis is ... a Category one hurricane located 370 miles west of Yangon, Myanmar, moving east-northeast at eight knots.... Fishermen are advised not to venture out to sea.
Based on information from MSNBC, CNN and BBC, certain things regarding Nargis seem to be coming to light.
1) The death toll will likely exceed 100,000 people.
2) The Myanmar Junta might be hiding bodies.
3) The Myanmar Junta is allowing aid material but not aid workers into affected regions.
4) Given the very shady nature of the government, we are beginning to tire of using the phrawse Myanmar. The country's name is Burma again.
5) The mangrove swamps on the affected peninsula have been wrecked, and this will have enormous environmental and human consequences.
6) About 95 percent of whatever was standing ... trees, people, buildings ... in the peninsula were knocked down and/or washed away by a 3-4 meter high tidal surge.
7) The UN is considering invading souther Burma in order to bring relief despite the efforts of the Junta to hinder helping this population. I assume the peninsular Burmese are political undesirables. Which would make this genocide as well as merely horrendous.
Make your donations to one of the few organizations pre-authorized to work in this country, Save the Children.
Politics
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I assume the peninsular Burmese are political undesirables.
Myanmar/Burma is a very multi-ethnic country, where the largest ethnicity is Burmese. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that the junta is Burmese, and represses the other peoples quite fiercely. The people on the Thai border, which I guess covers the southern peninsula, are mainly Karen, and they've been fighting a war of independence against the centre for decades. It wouldn't be at all surprising if the junta wanted to cut of disaster aid to these people to gain military advantage.
Posted by: chris y | May 8, 2008 9:05 AM
I read that Nargis became a category 4 before making landfall? It's hard to believe all this was from a category 1:
Category One Hurricane:
Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricane Lili of 2002 made landfall on the Louisiana coast as a Category One hurricane. Hurricane Gaston of 2004 was a Category One hurricane that made landfall along the central South Carolina coast.
Posted by: MPM | May 8, 2008 10:12 AM
That caption goes with that photograph and is accurate. Yes, it did increase strength, apparently to Cat 4, before landfall. But that photograph is from prior to landfall.
Posted by: Greg Laden | May 8, 2008 10:44 AM