Int'l flights to resume in Myanmar

China View 2008-05-04

YANGON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- All international and domestic flights through Myanmar's Yangon International Airport will resume on Monday, the State Radio reported in a night broadcast on Sunday.

The planned resumption of the flights was announced after repair was made on some of the damaged airport infrastructure caused by a violent cyclone Nargis that swept Yangon on Saturday.

Besides, some of the waterway transport had resumed earlier on Sunday, the report said.

In the deadly cyclone that stroke the country's five states and divisions on Friday and Saturday, a total of 351 people were killed, according to an official report.

The dead included 332 from Ayeyawaddy division, including 162 in Haing Kyi Island, and 19 in Yangon division.

In Haing Kyi island alone, nearly 20,000 houses were destroyed, leaving 92,706 people homeless.

In addition, 1,550 houses were damaged in Kawa and Nyaungdon in the Ayeyawaddy division.

In Yangon, the Hlaingtharyar industrial zone suffered heavy damage and loss, the report further said.

The deadly cyclone, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, entered Myanmar on Friday morning and lashed areas in southwestern coastal areas of Haing Gyi Island, Pathein, Myaungmya, Laputta, Mawlamyinegyun, Kyaiklat, Phyarpon, Bogalay.

On the same day, the Nargis, at a wind speed of about 192 kilometers per hour with a diameter of 240 km, hit the biggest city of Yangon for a consecutive over 10 hours starting midnight until Saturday noon, almost totally devastating the city.

Some five vessels capsized in the Yangon Port, an official report said earlier.

Myanmar has declared the five divisions and states -- Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon, which were hit by current cyclone storm, as natural-disaster-hit regions.

A national central committee for prevention of natural disaster has been formed with Prime Minister General Thein Sein as chairman to promptly and effectively carry out relief and resettlement tasks.

Source