UN increases aid for Myanmar flood victims

The United Nations is stepping up its emergency aid to Myanmar, where massive floods have killed at least 88 people in the country’s Irrawaddy delta region. Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced as rising rivers continue to overtake homes, creating a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, also known as Burma. The U.N. said […]

The United Nations is stepping up its emergency aid to Myanmar, where massive floods have killed at least 88 people in the country’s Irrawaddy delta region.
Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced as rising rivers continue to overtake homes, creating a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, also known as Burma.
The U.N. said Friday it will contribute $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help aid agencies providing assistance in the region.
“These funds will help provide people with emergency shelter, safe water supply, sanitation, food, critical health care, and other services at a time when they are in desperate need,” said a U.N. statement.
The world body estimates at least $47 million is required to provide adequate emergency aid. About 6.2 million people live in the region, an area where the Irrawaddy and other rivers branch out into a delta leading to the sea. Four areas have been declared disaster zones.
The flooding has devastated millions of hectares of farmland and killed animals that many rely on for their livelihood.