Period covered by this update: 29 April to 15 June 2011
Summary: On 30 March 2011, CHF 157,540 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) in delivering immediate assistance to 1,500 households (7,500 beneficiaries) affected by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter Scale in Shan (East) State, Myanmar, on 24 March 2011. Replenishment of the DREF funds has been received from Canadian Red Cross/Canadian government, Netherlands Red Cross/Netherlands government, and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (DG ECHO).
As described in DREF Operation Update No. 1, IFRC revised the plan of action and the budget of the DREF operation to reflect the new operational needs in the field. According to the revised plan of action, IFRC has requested its regional logistics unit in Kuala Lumpur to initiate the process of procuring 229 family tents. These tents will partially replenish the family tents distributed by MRCS from its own stocks. Tarpaulins, blankets and mosquito nets have already been replenished and the procurement of remaining items is in progress. MRCS has distributed food items and is also involved in the construction of houses of affected families with the support of its bilateral partners.
Given the delay in procurement of relief items for replenishment and the difficulty in transportation of family kits because of the monsoon season and cold weather, this DREF operation, which was expected to be completed by 30 June 2011, will be extended a further two months to complete all planned activities.
On behalf of the Myanmar Red Cross Society, IFRC would like to thank all donors for their generous support of the DREF.