Photo: Toe Toe/IRIN: Thousands lost their homes to Cyclone Giri 
Thousands of families in Myanmar's cyclone-affected Ayeyarwady Delta depend on fishing as their own source of livelihood
YANGON, 4 February 2011 (IRIN) - More than three months after Cyclone Giri struck Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, 15,000 families (an estimated 104,000 people) are still homeless, shelter experts say.
Of the US$22 million received thus far for relief and early recovery efforts, $1.5 million has been spent on emergency tarpaulins, bamboo posts, ropes and hammers, but according to Srinivasa Popuri, country programme manager for the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), this will not be enough to protect “an already battered population from another humanitarian crisis.” The monsoon season begins in June.
“Self-repaired homes have tarpaulins as roofs, or for covering a hole in the wall, and are not disaster-resilient at all," he added.
On 22 October, Rakhine State suffered one of the heaviest downpours ever recorded, when the category four storm struck, with winds of more than 121km per hour, according to the national met office. The office has documented a trend towards ever more frequent and powerful storms, based on its 100-year data archive, said Popuri.
“Communities are making the best of what they have and what they have received so far, but as the humanitarian community we cannot leave it with that as people are still living in temporary and inadequate shelters and in dire need of additional support to rebuilt their homes and their livelihoods,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Bishow Parajuli told IRIN.
The UN has estimated a total need of $57 million in relief and early recovery post-Giri.
A January joint assessment covering the 37 percent of the population worst affected by the cyclone, looked at nearly 20,000 homes in four townships - Myebon, Pauktaw, Kyaukpu and Minbya. More than a third of all homes were destroyed; another third were damaged.
In the worst affected township of Myebon, almost half the houses were destroyed.
It is estimated the cyclone completely destroyed 20,000 homes in all. Over 100,000 people were forced to stay with other families in “cramped, dire and at times rat-like deplorable conditions,” said Popuri.
UN-HABITAT estimates repairs to walls, roofs and floors designed to hold good for two years could cost up to $250 per house; $600 would buy another 6-8 years of relative stability. “And $600-1,000 can build a permanent structure that will last some two decades. A one-time investment is best because these cyclones will come annually,” said Popuri.
It will cost $12 million to replace the 20,000 destroyed homes. Another 14,500 damaged homes are expected to remain unrepaired until after the next monsoon season, when the total repair cost will be $2.5 million, according to UN-HABITAT.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91831
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