CYCLONE NARGIS

2008-05-02

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The cyclone made landfall in Myanmar on Friday, 2 May 2008, sending a storm surge 40 kilometres up the densely populated Irrawaddy delta, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 138,373 fatalities.

The Labutta Township alone was reported to have 80,000 dead, with about 10,000 more deaths in Bogale. There were around 55,000 people missing and many other deaths were found in other towns and areas, although the Myanmar government's official death toll may have been under-reported, and there have been allegations that government officials stopped updating the death toll after 138,000 to minimize political fallout.

The feared 'second wave' of fatalities from disease and lack of relief efforts never materialized. Damage was estimated at over Kyats 62,988,000,000 (US$10 billion), which made it the most damaging cyclone ever recorded in Myanmar.