Asian Disaster Reduction Center Visiting Researcher
Program FY 2022

Country Report of Myanmar 2022

Ms. Mi Mi Tun
Deputy 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 of
Myanmar (2019 estimate) 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 of
Myanmar is Naypyitaw. The predominately spoken language in Myanmar is Burmese and 89 percent of
the population is Buddhist.
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 torrential
rains. 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 of
Myanmar: 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.

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Fire/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 western
ranges have experienced different types of landslides and earth
movements such as rock falls, rockslides, soil avalanches and mud
flows.

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 are
small to medium enterprises, and lack disaster risk management andbusiness continuity plans. There is a need for profiling of Industrial
technological hazard.

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Climate 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 24
hours 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 21st
century 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 the
Myanmar Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.

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Legislative and Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Risk Management
Legislative and institutional arrangements for Disaster Risk Management is evolving in
Myanmar. The country enacted the Disaster Management Law in 2013 and the Disaster Management
Rules 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
The Disaster Management Law (2013) provides for the establishment of the National Disaster
Management Committee (NDMC). National Disaster Management Committee is the supreme 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.

5(d) To manage national finance and resources, and then to distribute them to required places.
(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 of
the 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.

6Standing Order
The standing order 2009 was issued for natural disaster management
based on experiences in the 2008 Nargis cyclonic storm. The "Standing
Order for Natural Disaster Management in Myanmar" is issued with the aimof ensuring that once disaster strikes, emergency relief and rehabilitation
work is carried out according to the prepared plan and that the people aremobilized at the national level for participation in such efforts.
Now, the order was revised in line with the management system andtechnological development. The standing order on natural disastermanagement for 2022 was drafted with remarks from relevant committees
and the ministry. Work committees and management committees are to scrutinize natural disasterprevention plans in line with the 2022 standing order.
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
coordinate 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.

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Non-government

Organizations(NGOs):

Several international

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 (MAPDRR 2017)
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 till 2020. The vision of
MAPDRR is to protect lives, economy, heritage and environment throughan inclusive approach towards sustainable development in Myanmar. With along term vision and considering deep-rooted underlying drivers of disaster
risk, it has set an overall target for 2030. It aims to provide a base formobilizing and leveraging, primarily, national and external resources andwill 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 thanmanaging 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.
Myanmar National Framework for Community Disaster Resilience
The Myanmar National Framework for Community Disaster
Resilience has been developed to guide stakeholders in building
resilience of Myanmar communities. The framework has been developed
under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief andResettlement that is the secretariat of the National Disaster Management
Committee (NDMC), and through extensive consultation with different
ministries, development partners, and civil society organizations. The
framework identifies actions to strengthen resilience so that communities
are better prepared, can withstand the impacts of disasters, and are able

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to recover quickly. These actions are community-based and span across key sectors such as rural andurban development, agriculture, environmental conservation and forestry, financial inclusion, social
protection, and disaster preparedness. The implementation requires an inclusive approach, andleveraging partnerships and resource mobilization through the cooperation of government organizations,civil society organizations, the private sector, and development partners. Implementation of thisframework is critical for building a resilient society, and for realizing our regional and global
commitments and priorities related to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).
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. Each department has specific disaster related duties. The Department of Disaster
Management (DDM) was established with the objectives to provide emergency assistance for thevictims of natural disasters for ensuring immediate relief and to conduct preventive measures to reduce
the loss of lives and properties due to disasters. DDM is responsible for conducting disastermanagement activities in accordance with the international norms and standards. Under the
Department, 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 (EOC)
Myanmar is vulnerable to natural disasters which have potential to impact large number ofpeople and developmental gain in the country. Therefore, the government of Myanmar hasprioritized preparedness and mitigation plans. In 2012, the country finalized the Myanmar Action
Plan On Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR) which identified the 65 priority projects. Emergency
Operation Center (EOC) is one of the Prioritized projects in MAPDRR to manage emergency
operations within the geological boundaries.
With the aim to provide the supports for emergency management, response and logistic throughinformation sharing on network and quick decision making, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief andResettlement plans to set up Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). The functions of EOC will include;-

Monitoring/ Watching weather related information and early warnings were received

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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-

Reporting the news acquired from affected area to the higher levels in emergency situation
continuously and timely

Disaster Management Training Center (DMTC)
The

government

establishment

of

the

approved
DisasterManagement Training Centre (DMTC)
in order to build up the capacity ofpeopleimplementing

disastermanagement activities. The DMTC willbuild upon the existing pool of experts
within the Relief and Resettlement Department and the existing Disaster Management Course, which
has supported capacity development of officials from Government Departments and Social
Organizations, since 1977. DMTC will be located in Hinthada Township in Ayeyarwaddy Region. The
Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is now undertaking the three-year plan (2013-2015)
for establishment of DMTC. Under Phase 1 (2013-2014), construction of the three main buildings is
now underway. The Ministry is collaborating with international and local partners to mobilize thetechnical and financial resources for:- Human resource and institutional capacity development- Infrastructure development- Development of Curriculum and procurement of Teaching Aids
- Networking and partnership with International and Regional Training Institutes and Centers
Conclusion
The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been
affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). Human impacts(fatalities) and direct economic losses were analyzed. The most recent data available — for 2019 andfrom 2000 to 2019 — were taken into account. Myanmar ranks second out of 184 countries mostaffected by climate change in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index. This is serious threat to Myanmar’s

10sustainable development. Myanmar sustainable Development Goal cannot be achieved without Disaster
Risk Management in Development plans. Myanmar needs to consider more about climate change anddisaster 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.
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.

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Reference-

Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction 2017-

Myanmar National Framework for Community Disaster Resilience-

www.germanwatch.org/en/cri-

Disaster Management law 2013-

The Global new Light of Myanmar-

Hazard profile of Myanmar 2009