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Myanmar builds motor road deep into cyclone-hard-hit area
September 03, 2008China View
YANGON, Sept. 3 (Xinhua)-- Myanmar has started building a new motor road directly running from Yangon deep into cyclone-hard-hit Pinzalu in Ayeyawaddy delta where waterway is only accessible, the local weekly 7-Day News reported Wednesday.
The new motor road, which extends as Yangon-Mawlamyinegyun-Pinzalu, remains one of the five key highway projects being implemented in the storm-ravaged region.
The prior part of the road from Yangon to Mawlamyinegyun takes 10 hours to travel by using the waterway and the new road, on completion, will save much of the traveling hours in transport and benefit commodity flow, local residents were quoted as saying.
Myanmar has worked out five key highway projects in cyclone-hard-hit Ayeyawaddy delta region as part of its prevention program against natural disaster in the region.
The five highways respectively stretch as Maubin-Mawgyun, Mawlamyinegyun-Pinzalu, Laputta-Pinzalu, Bogalay-Katonkani and Laputta-Teikzun.
These roads, which is being or will be built as concrete ones within three years, will have facilities to resist storm and tide, reports said, adding that some of these roads will be built a height of 20-30 feet (6-9 meters) near villages to create shelter for villagers in case of natural disaster onslaught.
During a recent cyclone storm in early last May, communications and road transport in the hardest-hit Ayeyawaddy delta region and villages near the sea were severely disrupted, creating much difficulties for carrying out relief work.
Meanwhile, Myanmar will also build and renovate 37 embankments in the cyclone-hit areas to prevent from flood in the future, according to earlier local report.
The embankments, to be built up to 1.5 meters higher than the height of the original ones, are estimat
MYANMAR: Cyclone survivors look to radio
August 28, 2008
KUNCHANGONE, 27 August 2008 (IRIN) - Squatting on the floor of his hut in the cyclone-affected Ayeryarwady Delta, Kyaw Kyaw gingerly adjusts his radio to hear the latest news from Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s newly established capital.“Radio is now part of our life,” the 30-year-old said. “We don’t pass a single day without listening to the weather report.”In post-cyclone Myanmar, much of which is still reeling from the effects of Cyclone Nargis, such a response is not difficult to understand.The category four storm left nearly 140,000 dead or missing when it pummelled coastal areas on 2 and 3 May, and most residents complain they had little or no warning.Almost four months on, reports continue to suggest that the authorities failed to adequately inform the delta’s 4.2 million inhabitants of the storm’s true severity on Naypyidaw Myanmar Radio - the country’s only state-owned AM radio station and the only radio accessible in the delta.This prevented many from seeking adequate shelter sooner,...
Road to Irrawaddy Delta Ruined
August 26, 2008
RANGOON — The highway connecting Rangoon to Bassein, capital of Irrawaddy Division, has been severely damaged by monsoon rains and the growing number of heavy trucks carrying humanitarian aid to cyclone-hit areas, according to sources in the area.The most severely damaged part of the highway is from Yae Nan Myay junction in Nyaungdon Township to the Bo Myat Tun Bridge in Rangoon, the sources said.Due to the deteriorating road conditions, accidents have become increasingly frequent and the flow of goods into the cyclone-hit area has been severely disrupted. Meanwhile, repairs have been delayed because of confusion over whether the job should be handled by private contractors or the government.Witnesses have reported seeing overturned cars on the road and said that vehicles stuck in potholes have become a common sight, causing long delays for travelers and trucks transporting goods.“A passenger bus normally takes a little more than five hours to travel from Rangoon to Bassein. Now it...
Myanmar starts five key highway projects in cyclone-hit region
July 20, 2008YANGON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has started implementation of five key highway projects in cyclone-hard-hit Ayeyawaddy delta region as part of its prevention program against natural disaster in the region, the local Biweekly Eleven reported on Sunday in this week's issue.
The five highways respectively stretch as Maubin-Mawgyun, Mawgyun-Pinzalu, Laputta-Pinzalu, Bogalay-Katonkani and Laputta-Teikzun.
These roads, which will be built as concrete ones within three years, will have facilities to resist storm and tide, the report said, adding that some of these roads will be built a height of 6-9 meters near villages to create shelter for villagers in case of natural disaster onslaught.
During a recent cyclone storm in early May, communications and road transport in the hardest-hit Ayeyawaddy delta region and villages near the sea were severely disrupted, creating much difficulties for carrying out relief...