General Min Aung Hlaing leads Myanmar flood relief: caring for the people and rebuilding homes with all efforts

Recently, Myanmar has suffered a huge natural disaster. Due to the influence of Typhoon "Laki", severe rainstorms and floods occurred in many parts of the country. On the afternoon of September 17, the Myanmar military government held a meeting on natural disaster management. Major General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the Myanmar National Planning and Management Committee and Prime Minister, attended the meeting in person, expressed his deep concern for the victims of the floods, and promised to provide them with necessary assistance and support to help them rebuild their homes as soon as possible.

The severity of this flood far exceeded expectations. After passing through Vietnam, Typhoon "Laki" hit Myanmar with a strong storm, causing large-scale rainfall and floods in Shan State, Naypyidaw Parliamentary District and many other regions and states. General Min Aung Hlaing elaborated on the process of the disaster at the meeting. He pointed out that due to the fast speed of the typhoon and the low pressure system formed in the central, western and northwestern parts of the Bay of Bengal, some parts of Myanmar suffered the most serious flood disasters in nearly 50 years. Despite the early warning, the intensity and speed of the rainstorm exceeded the forecast, causing widespread damage, dozens of villages were flooded, many houses were destroyed, and infrastructure was seriously damaged.

According to the latest statistics, the floods have caused 226 deaths, 77 missing, 47 injured, and more than 350,000 people were affected nationwide. In Naypyidaw, Kayah State, Shan State and other places that were hit hardest, many people lost their homes and tens of thousands of people were forced to live in shelters temporarily. This disaster not only brought great challenges to people's lives, but also had a profound impact on the country's economy and social stability.

In the face of such a serious natural disaster, General Min Aung Hlaing showed a high sense of responsibility and leadership at the meeting. He made it clear that although natural disasters cannot be completely avoided, the government has the responsibility to minimize losses and quickly carry out recovery work. He stressed that the government must take all necessary measures to help the affected people tide over the difficulties and ensure the rapid recovery of society.

At the meeting, General Min Aung Hlaing analyzed the causes and consequences of the disaster in detail. He pointed out that the sudden arrival of typhoons and heavy rains has put tremendous pressure on flood control facilities in many areas. Floods have destroyed roads, bridges and dams, and even triggered landslides. General Min Aung Hlaing said that the government and relevant departments have taken emergency response measures, dispatched rescue teams to the disaster area, carried out search and rescue work, and quickly set up multiple temporary shelters to provide shelter for homeless people.

At the same time, General Min Aung Hlaing also specifically mentioned that the government must ensure the timely supply of relief supplies. He said that food, drinking water and other necessities of life have been delivered to the disaster area through governments at all levels and the military to ensure that the basic lives of the affected people are guaranteed. In addition, the government has also increased investment in health to prevent secondary disasters such as epidemics and ensure the health and safety of the people in the disaster area.

In terms of post-disaster recovery, General Min Aung Hlaing proposed a series of practical measures. He called on government departments and local officials to actively cooperate to speed up the construction of infrastructure restoration, especially the repair of roads, bridges and water conservancy projects. He pointed out that the early restoration of these infrastructures will not only affect the daily life of the people in the disaster area, but will also directly affect the recovery of the national economy.

General Min Aung Hlaing also stressed that agriculture plays an important role in Myanmar's economy, and the floods have caused devastating damage to many farmlands. To this end, the government will provide agricultural subsidies and loans to affected farmers to help them resume production as soon as possible. He said that the government will fully support farmers to replant damaged crops and ensure that the recovery of agricultural production will not be interrupted for a long time due to the disaster.

In terms of infrastructure construction, General Min Aung Hlaing paid special attention to the repair of bridges. He pointed out that some bridges were severely damaged due to the impact of floods, and these bridges are essential for the transportation of materials in the disaster area. To this end, General Min Aung Hlaing ordered relevant departments to build temporary bridges as soon as possible to ensure that traffic in the disaster area is not interrupted. He also pointed out that in future bridge construction, lessons must be learned from this disaster to ensure that bridges can withstand the impact of extreme weather during design and construction.

In addition to rescue and recovery work, General Min Aung Hlaing also made further disaster prevention suggestions. He pointed out that the floods exposed some shortcomings in Myanmar's natural disaster prediction and response, especially in the fields of meteorological forecasting and information dissemination. To this end, he asked relevant departments to strengthen the natural disaster prediction and early warning system and ensure that the information released is easy to understand so that the public can quickly understand and take necessary precautions.

In addition, General Min Aung Hlaing also stressed the need for river and dam management. He pointed out that the sedimentation of sand and mud brought by floods is aggravating the blockage of rivers, causing the water level to continue to rise, thus increasing the risk of future floods. He called on government departments to strengthen dredging and cleaning of rivers in daily management to reduce the threat of future floods.