CMAT Director briefs CBC National News

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May 14 – 2008 – Comox, British Columbia: CMAT Director Bill Coltart briefed CBC National news today on CMAT’s emergency response plan and capabilities for China.

Click here to view the video clip: CBC News – China Quake – CMAT preparation

CMAT readying assessment team to aid Toronto’s sister city in China

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Location of quake zone, in Sichuan province, western China.

Location of quake zone, in Sichuan province, western China.

May 12, 2008 – Toronto: Canadian Medical Assistance Teams have readied their assessment team to respond to the earthquake which happened earlier today in China. Chongqing, Toronto’s sister city in the province of Sichuan recently visited by a trade mission of Toronto Mayor David Miller and Toronto City Councillors, was rocked by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale at approximately 14:00 local time.

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Myanmar: CMAT Assessment Team standing by to respond to Cyclone disaster

Friday, May 9, 2008 – MYANMAR: Canadian Medical Assistance Teams is coordinating an emergency response to help the tens of thousands of people affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. A CMAT team made up of two paramedics, Bill Coltart and Chris Kaley, and Sandra Hodge, a nurse practitioner, will be departing from Vancouver shortly. Their first concern will, be to carry out a rapid assessment on the ground which will dictate CMAT response over the coming days, as well as some treatment of trauma patients.

Preliminary reports suggest that tens of thousands of people have been killed and thousands more are missing. Electrical and telephone lines are down, affecting delivery of services and aid, blocking roads and access to rescue vehicles. Women and children make up more than 60 per cent of Myanmar’s population, and are likely to be prominent among those affected. Experience shows that children are less able to physically defend themselves against such forces of nature and are highly vulnerable to the dangers that follow in their wake.

Myanmar: Tropical Cyclone Nargis strikes Myanmar

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 – MYANMAR – Tropical Cyclone NARGIS – Tropical Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, sweeping through the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta region and the country’s largest city, Yangon. The authorities have declared five states and divisions (Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Mon and Kayin) to be disaster areas. Yangon sustained a direct hit, which downed power and communications lines, and inflicted major damage to buildings in the city. Many roads are blocked either by flooding or fallen debris. Damage was most severe in the delta region, where the effects of extreme winds were compounded by a sizable storm surge.

The number of people in need of assistance is expected to be considerable. The combined total population of the declared disaster areas is around 24 million. Roughly 6 million live in Yangon and a significant population is spread across the delta region.  More than 10,000 people have been killed in a tropical cyclone that struck at the weekend, Foreign Minister Nyan Win told state television, adding that his nation would welcome international aid.

The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Canadian Minister of International Cooperation, and the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is setting aside up to $2 million in humanitarian assistance to respond to Tropical Cyclone Nargis. The funds announced today will be provided as cash contributions to independent, impartial and neutral Canadian International Development Agency partners, who have the operational capacity to meet humanitarian needs.

The United Nations said hundreds of thousands of people had been left homeless when the storm, packing winds of 190 kilometres (120 miles) per hour, ripped through the countryside, destroying entire villages in its fury. Thousands of buildings were flattened as the furious cyclone also ripped power lines to shreds, uprooted trees that blocked key roads and disrupted water supplies in the main city and former capital, Yangon.

CMAT is monitoring the situation on the ground and will make further announcements on a relief plan shortly.