Myanmar

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is leveraging space-based information to support government and humanitarian agencies in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region with timely information for flood early warning and inundation mapping. The efforts, which consist of developing a streamflow prediction system for flood early warning and of providing near real-time flood maps for disaster response, come as the monsoon floods in the region are worsening and compunding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based at ICIMOD, the streamflow prediction system to support flood early warning is being developed through the SERVIR-HKH initiative, which benefits from technical assistance from NASA and the Bringham Young University. The system provides 15-day streamflow…

As part of the technical advisory support it provides to countries worldwide, UN-SPIDER carried out an Institutional Strengthening Mission to Myanmar from 11 to 15 March 2019 upon the request of the government. This activity was jointly organized by UN-SPIDER and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), under auspices of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettle­ment (MSWRR) of Myanmar. It was hosted by the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). Experts from the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Maxar contributed to the mission.

The mission was a follow-up activity to the UN-SPIDER Technical Advisory Mission (TAM…

The United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) carried out a joint high-level advocacy workshop in Myanmar under auspices of the country’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettle­ment (MSWRR). Experts from the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Maxar contributed to the meeting on 11 March 2019 in Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar.

The high-level advocacy workshop was led by Prof. Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister of MSWRR. He elaborated outcomes of the long-term engagement of UN-SPIDER with Myanmar. Among others, the meeting was attended by Mr. Soe Aung, Deputy Minister of MSWRR and over 50 senior officials of all key ministries that contribute to disaster management activities in the country. The workshop proposed…

The Centre for Space Science Technology and Education for Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), UN-HABITAT, and UN-SPIDER conducted the training course entitled ‘Post Disaster (Earthquake) Rapid Damage Assessment’. It was held in Yangon, Myanmar, from 28 March to 2 April 2017. Its objective was to enhance the capacity for rapid damage assessment using geospatial and Earth observation technologies. 

The event was conducted as part of the UN-SPIDER’s technical advisory services which began in 2012 in the case of Myanmar.  The training course was hosted by the Yangon Technological University in collaboration with Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and the Myanmar Engineering Society and Myanmar Earthquake Committee. It was organised as a recall of the Chuak earthquake in August 2016 that severely damaged some of the religious structures in the heritage site of Bagan, with the purpose of developing capacities in use of earth…

The UN-SPIDER team conducted an Institutional Strengthening Mission (ISM) to Myanmar from 27 June to 1 July 2016. The aim of the mission has been to identify Myanmar’s needs in disaster and risk management and is a follow-up to two missions conducted previously in March and November 2012. 

Since 2012 great efforts were taken by Myanmar authorities to improve their use of space-based information in risk and disaster management: an Emergency Operation Center has been established with well-trained experts working in specific units such as the “Remote Sensing Unit” and the “Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Unit”.  These units include specialized tasks on Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS).  In addition, RS and GIS courses are now offered at the recently created Disaster…

The International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated on Wednesday, 5 August, due to floods caused by torrential monsoon rains in 12 of the 14 states of Myanmar, particularly in Chin, Magway, Sagaing and Rakhine areas. UNITAR-UNOSAT sent the request to activate the mechanism on behalf of UNDP Myanmar.

The flooding and subsequent landslides have killed 69 people and affected more than 250,000 so far. Additionally, great economic damages were caused in the delta regions, specialized in rice production, which raises concerns about food security. Local authorities stated that 1 million acres of farmland were flooded and more than 65,000 acres have been destroyed.

According to the Charter, “residents of Myanmar's delta region expect flood water levels to increase as water continues to flow from the north of the country. Rivers in the Ayeyarwady delta region were up to 0.6 to 1 metre higher than safe levels, with water levels expected to rise a further…

On 2 August 2013, the International Charter was activated by request of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) on behalf of UNDP, with the aim of supporting Myanmar to deal with the damages that flash floods, heavy rains and landslides have caused in the southeastern part of the country.

The country of Myanmar suffers the effects of monsoons every year between the months of July and October. This year, three people have been killed, up to 38,000 others have been evacuated into relief camps and one person is missing, according to state media reports. Kayin and Mon states are the most affected areas, with people displaced from their homes and damaged roads as a result of the floods.

In order to support the citizens of Myanmar, the United Nations, UNICEF and Save the Children organizations have distributed food, water and medical aid into relief camps while the Government has also provided food…

On 15 May, 2013, UNITAR/UNOSAT, on behalf of UNOCHA, activated the International Charter Space and Major Disasters to obtain satellite-derived image-products for the impact of tropical cyclone Mahasen.

Cyclone Mahasen struck the southern coast of Bangladesh, on 16 May 2013, and is expected to affect as much as 8.2 million people in the area. Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate in advance of the oncoming storm in Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar.

While the storm has not been classified as severe, the main concerns are about the resulting floods and landslides left in the cyclone's wake. This was evident in Sri Lanka, where at least seven people were killed in floods and mudslides even though the cyclone did not make landfall in the country.

There are reports that two people have been killed in Bangladesh, so far, and fifty people were killed in Myanmar while attempting to evacuate by boat on 14 May. It is forecast that Cyclone…

UN-SPIDER and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), prospective Regional Support Office of UN-SPIDER, are jointly organizing a national training course on Geo-informatics for Disaster Risk Management in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar from 26-30 November 2012. The programme is supported by the Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD) of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and UN OCHA Myanmar Office.

The national training course on Geo-informatics for Disaster Risk Management is attended by over twenty participants from various line ministries and departments involved in supporting disaster risk management and emergency response in Myanmar. The training programme is conducted by experts from UN-SPIDERand ICIMOD . The invited experts from Wuhan University, China and Myanmar Information Management Unit are also contributing to the training course.

The participants will be introduced to the concepts of hazard and…

Myanmar's Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD), the nodal agency for Disaster Management in Myanmar, launched an online portal for wider dissemination of policies, guidelines, manuals and activities regarding disaster risk reduction. The launch ceremony was organized on 16th July 2012 at Nay Pyi Taw and was chaired by the Deputy Director General of Relief and Resettlement Department, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Approximately, 30 ministries, UN Agencies and NGOs attended the launch ceremony. The Website is an all-in-one source of Disaster Risk Reduction information for Myanmar. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) provided technical support to RRD for the development of the Portal.

In March 2012 UN-SPIDER conducted a Technical Advisory Mission to Myanmar and worked closely with the Relief and Resettlement Department on exploring options to improve Myanmar's Risk and Disaster Management with space-…

UN-SPIDER successfully concluded its Technical Advisory mission to Myanmar, which was conducted from 19 to 23 March at the invitation from the Government through the Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD) of the Ministry of Social Welfare. The mission was headed by Mr. Shirish Ravan and included experts from the UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER Office in Beijing, UNESCAP, the Centre for Space Science Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China, United States Geological Survey (USGS), the University of South Wales, Australia, the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation (APSCO) and Mekong Consultants Co. Ltd. The mission also benefited from advisory support provided by UN-OCHA.

Like other countries in the Bay of Bengal, Myanmar is exposed to tropical storms and corresponding storm surges; droughts, earthquakes and tsunamis. RRD has a mandate focusing on emergency response and disaster risk reduction, and wishes to establish a centre that…

Two 7.0 magnitude earthquakes stuck Myanmar on March 24. Earthquakes struck a relatively rural section of the country that borders on Thailand, Laos, and China. But these back to back disasters, earlier in Japan and now in Myanmar, prompted Chinese government will launch a campaign to map the country's active fault lines.

Meanwhile, USGS has released map of the earthquake's intensity and map of the location of the quake. On the other hand, in China, according to Ran Yongkang, a senior research fellow with the Institute of Geology under the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), the earthquake faults detection work will be finished by 2020. Ran added that a separate and smaller-scale active fault detection campaign had started in China's major cities including Beijing and Shanghai in 2004.

Earlier, Gao Mengtan, with the CEA Institute of Geophysics, said the country is working on a new seismic zoning map, which marks regions in terms of their quake risk. The map will be…

A training programme named ‘Post Disaster (Earthquake) Rapid Damage Assessment’ was held at Yangon, Myanmar on 28 March – 2 April 2017. Its objective was to build capacity for rapid damage assessment using geospatial and earth observation technologies.

It was hosted by Yangon Technological University in collaboration with Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Myanmar Engineering Society and Myanmar Earthquake Committee. It was organised as a recall of the Chuak earthquake in August 2016 that severely damaged some of the religious structures in the heritage site of Bagan, with the purpose of developing capacities in use of earth observation and geospatial technologies for post-disaster rapid damage assessment. 

The course included theory and hands-on sessions focused on the use of earth observation in providing critical information and rapid mapping during earthquakes. The participants learned about the role of International Charter…

The Ministry of Science and Technology

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Ko Ko Oo
Tel: +95 (67) 404008
Email: most17 [at] myanmar.com.mm