FY2020
2021
Country Report of Myanmar

Ms. Mi Mi TunAssistant Director
Department of Disaster Management
Ministry of Social welfare, Relief and Resettlement
Republic of the Union of Myanmar

1Introduction
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is geographically situated in southeast Asia between
latitudes 90° 32' N & 28° 31' N and longitudes 92° and 10' E& 101° 11'E .It is surrounded by China innorth and north east, Loa PDR and Thailand in east and south east.
Myanmar is one of the largest countries in South East Asia covering 261,228 square miles. It
stretches for 582 miles from east to west and 1,275 miles from north to south. The population ofMyanmar (2019) is 54.05 million. Myanmar is ethnically diverse with more than 135 ethnic groups
represented within the total population. The largest city in Myanmar is Yangon and the capital ofMyanmar is Naypyitaw. The predominately spoken language in Myanmar is Burmese and 89 percent of
the population is Buddist .
Hazard Profile of Myanmar
Myanmar is prone to almost all types of hazards, which include fire, forest fire, earthquake,strong wind/ cyclone, storm surge, tsunami, landslide, floods, drought and industrial/ technologicalhazard. In recent years, the country is also witnessing a spate of localized disasters such as lightning andriverbank erosion. In 2014-2017, lightning led to the loss of 175 lives. During the same period,
Myanmar also experienced loss of 261 and 782 lives due to riverbank erosion and strong windrespectively. The 2015 floods caused damages and losses amounting to USD1.5 billion, while the 2008
Cyclone Nargis led to USD 4.1 billion.
In 2019 beginning of July, there were flooding and landslides in our country due to torrentialrains. It caused the worst event of landslide in Mon State in August 2019. Combining of torrential rains
and illegally excavation of soft soil by local people caused the mountain sliding to the Thae Phyu Kone
village in Paung Township. 175 people were affected by landslide and about 75 people were dead andmore than 40 were missing under the mud. On August 2020, widespread floods effected multiple
regions in Myanmar due to overflow of the Ayeyarwady and the Thanlyin Rivers. At least 21,500 people
were affected.
Table 1 Hazard Profile of Myanmar (MAPDRR 2017)
HazardProfileEarthquake and Tsunami

Two main sources: Sagaing fault, and the Sunda subduction megathrustzone. Four areas are designated as the Destructive Zone: 1), Bago-Phyu,
2) Mandalay-Sagaing-Tagaung, 3) Putao-Tanaing, and Kale-Homalin.
Although the latter two have major earthquake hazards, their risk-levelis low because they are sparsely populated. In coastal areas ofMyanmar: Rakhine Coast falls in the Strong Zone with modified
mercalli intensity (MMI) 8, the Ayeyawady Delta and Taninthayi coasts
fall in the Moderate Zone with MMI.

2Fire/Forest fire

Most frequent hazards occurring in Myanmar. In the Last ten years(2007-2016), 12,000 cases were recorded and Yangon, Mandalay,
Ayeyarwaddy, Sagaing and Bago are the most affected States andRegions.

Drought

Approximately 51 townships spread across Magway, Mandalay andSagaing (lower) regions are prone to drought.

Landslide

The mountainous regions, especially in the western ranges and somelocalities in the eastern highland are prone to landslides. The westernranges have experienced different types of landslides and earth
movements such as rock falls, rockslides, soil avalanches and mudflows.

FloodsFlood is one of the most frequent hazards in Myanmar. The threat offlooding usually occurs three times per year, in June, July August late,
September and October with the biggest threat in August, as monsoon
rains peak around that time. Most of the areas of Myanmar are prone tofloods and the central part of Ayeyarwaddy Region is the most affectedone.

Cyclone/StormSurge

Myanmar is highly vulnerable to these hazards, Particularly, during themonths of April and May, and also during October to November.
Cyclones often occur in the middle of the monsoon season, but theyusually don't reach their maximum strength. However, in 2015 Cyclone
Komen had disruptive effects, causing heavy rain, landslides and flood.
In coastal areas, cyclone can cause storm surges. Climate change islikely to worsen the risk of existing cyclone/storm surge.

Industrial/
Technological Hazards

Myanmar has 51 industrial parks (limited information), primarily
located in Yangon and Mandalay regions. Most of the companies aresmall to medium enterprises, and lack disaster risk management andbusiness continuity plans. There is a need for profiling of Industrial
technological hazard.

3Climate Change and Variability
Studies at the global level have found that climate change is reconfiguring hazards andincreasing the risks of disasters. The rise in sea levels, changes in the intensity of the strongest storms
and the frequency with which they occur. This in turn increases extreme temperatures, and alters
precipitation patterns. Although, it is difficult to link an individual extreme event to climate change,
Myanmar has witnessed some extreme events in recent years. For example, in the Chin State, during thelast seven days of July 2015, the recorded rainfall was 30 percent higher than in any other month overthe past 25 years. The monthly rainfall of July measured at the weather station in Hakha was equal to a
1-in-1000-year rainfall. In July 2009, 434 mm of rainfall fell in a single day in Launglon, which was thehighest rainfall recorded in the country during a 24 hours period. In August 2009, the Bago Region
experienced its highest 24 hours rainfall in 45 years. On 21st July 2011, 739 mm of rainfall within a 24hours period in Taungoke, Rakhine, was recorded as the highest rainfall in the country. On 14th May
2010, the highest temperature, reaching 47.2°C, was recorded in Myanmar. Climate change projections:
A recent study on climate risk in Myanmar, found that the climate is projected to shift dramatically inthe coming decades. The study highlighted the following:•In every region in Myanmar, temperatures are expected to soar by the middle of the 21stcentury by 1.3°C–2.7°C.

•The eastern and northern hilly regions are projected to see the most dramatic warming,with temperatures rising as much as 3°C during the hot season.

•In the future, the country can experience anywhere between 4 to 17 days of extreme heat
every month, in contrast to one day a month during the period between 1981–2010.

•Changes in rainfall patterns are projected to vary by region and season. While increases
are projected during the monsoon season, both a rise and fall in the temperature is likely
during the rest of the year.

•Projections on rising sea levels for the coastline , range from 20 cm to 41 cm by midcentury.

The implication of climate change on six development sectors: agriculture, fisheries andlivestock; environment and natural resources; energy, transport and industry; cities, towns and humansettlements; climate hazards and health; and education, science and technology has been analyzed in theMyanmar Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.

4

Legislative and Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Risk Management
Legislative and institutional arrangements for Disaster Risk Management is evolving inMyanmar. The country enacted the Disaster Management Law in 2013 and the Disaster ManagementRules was prescribed in 2015. The Law was developed to be in line with Hyogo Framework for Action(2005-2015) and to comply with the AADMER. The Law does not include the concept of climatechange adaption (CCA), and focuses on risk information, preparedness, awareness and early warning,and data management for early warning systems, together with the following objectives:·to implement natural disaster management programmes systematically and expeditiously
in order to reduce disaster risks;·to form the National Committee and Local Bodies in order to implement natural disastermanagement programmes systematically and expeditiously;·to coordinate with national and international government departments and organizations,social organizations, other non-government organizations or international organizations
and regional organizations in carrying out natural disaster management activities;·to conserve and restore the environment affected by natural disasters;·

to provide health, education, social and livelihood programmes in order to bring about
better living conditions for victims.

The Law enables the formation of the National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC) with its
duties and Powers.

National Disaster Management Committee
According to the Disaster Management Law, the National Disaster Management Committee(NDMC) chaired by the Vice-President 2 has formed. National Disaster Management Committee is thesupreme agency on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) (policy level, decision making, formulating
strategies, and overall supervision). The duties and functions of NDMC are as following:(a) to set up required organizations to implement the activities of the committee; to provide
policies according to the priority of step by step activities; to review the progress of the workof the committee and give instructions as necessary.
(b) To provide guidance to use domestic resources as necessary in the face of natural disasters.
(c) To adopt basic principles on coordination for activities which are necessary to receive
assistance external sources .
(d) To manage national finance and resources, and then to distribute them to required places.

5(e) If necessary, to issue orders and instructions to carry out natural disaster management
functions without hindrances, avoiding the misuse of rescue materials and prevail law andorder in the community during and after the natural disasters;
The twelve work committees related to the specific areas of disaster risk management and anadvisory committee have been set-up under NDMC. State/Region-, District-, Township- and Village
Tract-level Disaster Management Bodies had also been formed respectively. The organogram isreflected in the following figure .

The National Disaster Management Work Committee (NDMWC) chaired by the Union Minister
for Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement was formed to supervise the implementation ofthe Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities. Department of Disaster Management under Ministry ofSocial Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is the National Disaster Management Office for DRR and Line
Ministries with related mandates on DRR.
Disaster Risk Reduction Networks
Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRR Working Group): The DRR Working Group wasestablished in 2008 to support recovery and reconstruction efforts of Cyclone Nargis. It serves as aplatform for information sharing and strengthened coordination among development partners working
on disaster risk reduction issues. Working groups have been also set-up at the sub-national level inselected regions and states, including in Mon State, Kayin State and Rakhine State. The groups also

6coordinate sub-national risk reduction activities. UNDP is the chair of the DRR Working Group at thenational level, while the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), the Community Development
Association and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) head the DRR Working Groups ofChin State, Kayin State and Rakhine State respectively.
Myanmar Humanitarian Country Team (HCT): It is a strategic humanitarian coordination anddecision-making body that seeks to optimize the collective efforts of the UN, other international andnational organizations, non-governmental organizations and the Red Cross Movement. It is convened
under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC). The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) serves as its Secretariat. It oversees the development of sector/cluster
response plans and provides oversight and advice to the cluster/sector leads and humanitarian-focusedgeographic and subsidiary groups. It also leads decision making on inter-agency coordination in regards
to assessments, joint monitoring and evaluation missions.
Non-government

Organizations(NGOs):

Severalinternational and local

non-governmentorganizations, community based organizations, professional societies such as Myanmar Engineering
Society, Myanmar Geosciences Society and Red Cross system are working on disaster risk management,
including community level disaster preparedness.
Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction
The Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR), 2017 is a comprehensive
and unified action plan for disaster risk reduction with prioritized interventions across Myanmar till2020. The vision of MAPDRR is to protect lives, economy, heritage and environment through an
inclusive approach towards sustainable development in Myanmar. With a long term vision andconsidering deep-rooted underlying drivers of disaster risk, it has set an overall target for 2030. It aims
to provide a base for mobilizing and leveraging, primarily, national and external resources and will
provide a basis for result printed outcomes. The MAPDRR 2017 covers not only natural hazards but
also man-made accidents focusing on managing risks rather than managing disaster.
The action plan identifies 32 priority actions under four pillars: risk information and awareness;risk governance; risk mitigation; and preparedness and response, rehabilitation and reconstruction. For
each priority action, objectives, activities, outputs, duration, lead agencies, and supporting partners havebeen identified. The priority actions aim to strengthen the policy frameworks and systems for long-termrisk reduction. Robust implementation, funding as well as monitoring and evaluation mechanisms havebeen identified for the MAPDRR 2017.

7

Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement
In Myanmar, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is the focal Ministry fordisaster management. It also serves as the secretariat of NDMC. Under the Ministry, there are three
Departments: Department of Social welfare, Department of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation
Department. Department of Disaster Management (DDM) is responsible for conducting disastermanagement activities in accordance with the international norms and standards. Under theDepartment, there are Emergency Operation Center, Disaster Management Training Center(DMTC),
Region/State offices ,District offices and Township offices. DDM is a focal point of the ASEAN
Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM).
Emergency Operation Center:

With the aim to provide the supports for emergency management,

response and logistic through information sharing on network and quick decision making, the Ministryof Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement plans to set up Emergency Operation Center(EOC).The
functions of EOC will include;-Monitoring / Watching weather related information and early warnings were received-

Developing research on disasters occurred in Myanmar-

Developing the response plans for each type of disaster-Exchanging weather information with local/ international organizations-

Documentation of disaster information, Distribution and Coordination

Myanmar Disaster Loss and Damage Database: The Myanmar Disaster Loss and Damage Databasehas now been initiated by the Department of Disaster Management with the Objective to develop
national capacities for monitoring and analyzing risks and vulnerabilities to support disaster risk
reduction ,mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The National framework for the databasehas been finalized and the pilot data collection is now under-way. The database could be linked with theRegional and global networks in the near future.
Disaster Alert Notification (DAN) :DAN mobile app is intended to timely provide disaster

related information, weather news and other updates on disaster risk reduction activities in Myanmar.
It sends notifications about the early warning information on potential disaster situation to the users.
It also provides facts on disaster preparedness before disaster, dos and don’ts for (8) types of the most
likely disasters in Myanmar and other publications on disaster awareness. DAN is developed by theDepartment of Disaster Management, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in partnershipwith UNDP and Adaptation Fund to provide actionable disaster related information to communities inMyanmar to be able to better prepare for and respond to disaster events.

8Myanmar Unified platform for Disaster Risk Application (MUDRA): Disasters

canundermine

socio-economic development and set back hard-earned development gains. Understanding current andfuture disasters and climate change associated risks is therefore important for sustainable development.
To enable risk-informed strategic development planning, the Myanmar Unified platform for Disaster
Risk Application (MUDRA) has been developed. MUDRA is an online interactive portal that provides
disaster risk information for strategic planning. The current portal includes risk information riverinefloods, coastal floods (storm surges) and cyclone winds. Several types of exposure data are included,
such as population density, buildings, agriculture and critical infrastructure. It is possible add otherhazards and exposure data in the future. The portal is intended to act as a common platform acrossagencies in Myanmar for developing, collaborating and sharing disaster risk information to promoterisk-informed development and thereby contributing to the objectives of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Conclusion
Myanmar ranks third out of 184 countries most affected by climate change in the last 20 years in
the 2019 Global Climate Risk Index. This is serious threat to Myanmar’s sustainable development.
Building disaster resilience in Myanmar becomes more important than ever, to be safe lives of Myanmar
people, to protect investment and to ensure the sustainability of development gains.
Myanmar sustainable Development Goal cannot be achieved without Disaster Risk Managementin Development plans. Myanmar needs to consider more about climate change and disaster risk in every
development plan and to enhance preparedness activities for future disasters. Early warning systems
need to be upgraded in order to issue more accurate and area-specific warnings.