You will prepare and submit a term paper on Comparison of Cyclone Nargis and Cyclone Sidr. Your paper should be a minimum of 1250 words in length. Natural Disasters result from naturally occurring events that affect human lives and the wider environment. Throughout the world natural disasters usually occur in the form of earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunamis, tornados, volcanoes and hurricanes. Hurricanes, referred to as cyclones if they originate around the Indian and South Western Pacific Oceans are yearly occurrences. Cyclones are associated with strong winds that can cause damage to buildings and trees resulting in loss of life and property. Heavy and continuous rain can also lead to floods and submergence of low lying areas.

The Burmese government's response to the disaster was very slow and ineffective. Immediately after the storm, the military government was refusing international aid even when it was obvious that they lacked enough facilities to deal with the disaster. The government was also accused of withholding information from the citizens and failure to warn them of the approaching storm. ABC News quoted then First Lady Bush as stating that, “Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path." They were also criticized by other world leaders as well as spokespersons from donor agencies that cited their slow emergency response as exhibiting little or no regard for human lives. It has also been reported that meteorologists in India that they informed Burma of the approaching cyclone and gave the specific location of the landfall (CRS Report, May 15). Many blamed the government’s response on the country’s political situation. The military junta did not have normal relations with many international communities. The Bangladeshi’s response to Cyclone Sidr on the other hand helped to reduce the humanitarian impact of the disaster. Owing to past experiences it would seem that the government was adequately prepared and responded as early as possible. Approximately 3.2 million people were evacuated and there was stockpiling of relief and other basic items.&nbsp.

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