On the terrible Myanmar cyclone, why weren't more people able to escape ?

Question

I have been reading about it and I looked it up on the web, I don't really know much about cyclones but from the pictures I have seen of many of the areas, It looks as though they had the ability to have like a warning system of some type.

It shows views of the storm over the sea 2 days before it hit so how come more people couldn't have gotten to safer ground?

this is terrible. I just pray that somehow God will comfort and help these people.

Answer 1

I'll give you a good idea of what's going on here.

Number 1: Historical precedent. Two years ago, a storm in the same area veered slightly north and only caused 22 deaths with somewhat minimal damage. Myanmar does not have a history of these kinds of deaths; usually they tend to occur further northwest, in Bangladesh.

Number 2: Intensity and area of impact. I'll tell you one thing, I tracked this storm its entire lifespan and I was not thinking to myself, "This storm will have enormous death tolls". One accomplished met on a forum I used to visit frequently (www.storm2k.org) stated that "Thank goodness it's not headed for Bangladesh". It did intensify beyond the boundaries normally expected for a cyclone in the Indian Ocean (though oddly the season has two peaks; one now and one in July/August). Also, it made landfall in the worst place possible. The NHC might have handled this better, but let's face it, this wasn't expected.

Number 3: The IMD. The IMD has a long track record of sucking hard at intensity estimates. Last year during Cyclone Sidr they reported 35 mph winds when the storm had a clear eye. This time around, they reported the maximum three minute winds to be 105 mph, which would indicate a fairly small surge and not too much damage (though still an extraordinarily large amount). The 1-minute winds were estimated, by tried and true satellite estimates, to be 135 mph, which corresponds to three-minute winds of about ~20 mph faster than the IMD's prediction. That may have also added to the problem.

Number 4: Population density and transportation. This isn't a first world country we're dealing with. Myanmar is packed with people, many of whom don't get the news quickly. Also, transportation for most of them is limited to foot and sometimes animals or animal pulled carts. While the evacuation of around 6 million people is a ridiculous effort by itself, the same attempt in a country like Myanmar is literally impossible.

Also, there are pretty sucky warning systems in a lot of these places. A lot of people were first alerted to the storm when the tidal wave of a storm surge came rushing through the streets.

Answer 2

The myanmar government has very primative disaster detection equipment and on top of that they didnt bother to tell anyone either. and on top of THAT they are being really slow to let people in to help out!!! stupid...

Answer 3

The policy of their country is..stay put during a storm..panic..awareness reaction..nowhere to go..lack of emergency support..remember that this country is a military government with different public rules compared to our's. they have no human rights. they are deprived of the freedom to llive as a civilized nation. i have friends from myanmar who visit me and tell me what it is like to live there. they have even limited internet access controled by the government and  mobile phones are forbidden to be used by the majority of the public.

i myself use to llive for many years in a military type of government. your not allowed to be seen outdoors during a typhoon or some natural weather phenomenon.

and this is just a small part of it..now. with the way things are done overthere..when a storm hits this place...its not surprising the death toll to be enormous. these people live in constant fear of the military. anyone caught seeking safety may have serious consequences with the military...they can be blamed for looting, or some sort of crime. they just have to suffer the consequences. its so sad that there are countries on this planet that are ruled in this manner.