US embassy cable - 04RANGOON1633

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001633 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, CA TASK FORCE, OPS CENTER 
BANGKOK, KATHMANDU FOR USAID 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AEMR, CASC, PREL, PINR, PGOV, AMGT, BM 
SUBJECT: TFXO01: TSUNAMI DEATH TOLL RISES IN BURMA 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1629 
 
     B. SECSTATE 273476 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: It is evident now that Burma's remote 
coastal and delta regions suffered at least several dozen 
casualties and, at the village level, significant property 
damage from the earthquakes and tsunami of December 26th, 
although the full extent of the impact is still unclear.  As 
of COB December 28th, there are no reports of any Amcit dead 
or missing.  Remarkably, the GOB, always reluctant to admit 
any problems in the Golden Land, has publicly announced 
deaths and damage in coastal regions, although official 
figures are considerably lower than UN and NGO estimates.  UN 
agencies and the Red Cross are assessing the situation and 
have offered assistance, though the GOB has yet to request 
any outside aid.  No matter how bad it gets here, and the 
death toll will almost certainly climb, we are doubtful the 
government will ask for international help.  End summary. 
 
Government Admits a Problem 
 
2. (U) The GOB has taken the unusual step of announcing 
publicly that there were casualties in Burma due to the 
earthquakes and subsequent tsunami of December 26th. 
According to the December 28th edition of the mouthpiece 
daily "The New Light of Myanmar," Burma was hit by nine 
earthquakes between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 am on the 26th with 
resulting damage to buildings in six of Burma's 14 
administrative regions.  The most significant damage occurred 
in "coastal regions," where, according to the GOB, 34 people 
were killed, 45 injured, and 25 are still missing.  The GOB 
reported that tidal waves destroyed 17 villages in this same 
area, leaving 200 people homeless.  The newspaper account 
noted that GOB officials were visiting damaged townships in 
the delta region and offering unspecified "necessary 
supplies." 
 
3. (SBU) The GOB official numbers are at variance with those 
of several UN sources who, as of December 28th, offered 
estimates as high as 57 deaths -- 20 in southern Tanintharyi 
Division, bordering Thailand, and 37 in the Irrawaddy River 
delta region southwest of Rangoon.  According to additional 
UN sources, the GOB has not requested international 
assistance and thus UN efforts are focused on assessment. 
The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) remains 
the coordinating agency for any international relief efforts 
in Burma, though UNDP is poised to take over that function 
should the situation worsen. 
 
4. (SBU) The official GOB numbers also differ from those 
given us informally by a government source who claimed there 
are 56 dead and 92 injured in southern Tanintharyi Division 
alone.  In addition, a Myanmar Red Cross source told UN 
officials that he thought there could be as many as 90 dead 
in the Irrawaddy delta zone, though he admitted this number 
was based on informally gathered information. 
 
No Amcits Reported Missing 
 
5. (U) There have not been any reports of missing or dead 
American citizens in Burma.  The areas apparently hardest hit 
by the earthquakes and high seas, which include hundreds of 
delta and coastal islands, are quite remote and mostly 
untouristed.  Dive boats launched out of Phuket in southern 
Thailand are known to frequent waters in southernmost Burma, 
but we have received no reports of boats or foreign tourists 
missing in these areas.  As mentioned in reftel, and 
corroborated by business and UN contacts, there was little or 
no damage to the major tourist beach areas west of Rangoon on 
the Bay of Bengal. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: The number of deaths will likely rise over 
the next several days as UN field officers and NGO workers 
report in from remote locations.  There is very poor 
communication with remote delta settlements and with islands 
in the archipelago along the far southeastern coast.  The 
number of itinerant fishermen in these heavily fished areas 
is also unknown.  Whatever the ultimate toll, we expect the 
GOB to understate any future official accounts of the 
disaster.  In addition, we would be surprised if the GOB made 
any requests for international aid no matter how high the 
toll climbs.  End comment. 
MARTINEZ