People move to higher grounds in fear of 'Bijli'

by Phanida

Friday, 17 April 2009 11:54

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – In the wake of cyclone 'Bijli' warning being issued, people in the Cyclone  'Nargis' devastated region in Irrawaddy Division are reportedly moving to safer areas inland, eyewitnesses said. "A lot of rural people moved into towns yesterday and today. The people from almost every village are moving into the town area,” a local resident of Latputta Township in Irrawaddy Division told Mizzima on Friday. “They had a bitter experience during Cyclone 'Nargis'. The wind is still blowing. And so more than a thousand people have moved to our town," added the local. Hundreds of villagers from the more than 12 village tracts including Kanyinkone and Ywamagyi in Latputta Township are now reportedly taking temporary shelter relatives and friends' houses and local Buddhist monasteries in the town areas including Suutaungpye and Thayettaw have been occupied, the local said. A woman villager in Thingankone village said, "People from different villages including Taungalay and Aukpyunewa have come to our village this morning. Now they are living at their friends' houses and monasteries.” She said, the whole of Aukpyunewa village have arrived to her Thingankone village, after hearing the warning of an impending cyclone announced by state radio and television. “Our village is on slightly higher ground. Many died when Cyclone Nargis swept the area. There are no boats now to go to Pathein and other places. Now we are getting ready with our belongings," she added. Like her, she said, villagers in the delta, which was hit-hard by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, were scared following the announcement made on government-owned television ‘MRTV 4 channel’. She predicts that more villagers will be coming over in search of shelter, as people have become aware of the impacts of a Cyclone. “We are taking precautions unlike earlier," a resident from Bogale town said. The state-run radio broadcast that a storm with the epicentre in Bay of Bengal is moving towards the Burmese coast and its surface wind speed may reach up to 80 miles per hour. "The tidal wave and sea surge may reach 6 to 8 feet, along the Rakhine [Arakan] coastline and 4 to 6 feet along the Irrawaddy coastline while the storm crosses the Burmese coast. The highest tidal wave will be experienced along Kyaukphyu and Thandwe coastline," the announcement said. < Prev   Next >