Reckoning with Climate Devastation in Myanmar
In Myanmar, over 113 people are dead with many more missing due to the flooding and mudslides of Typhoon Yagi. The typhoon has proven itself to be the most powerful storm in Asia this year and has already claimed the lives of 287 people in Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, and the island of Hainan. Myanmar has been hit hard as 66,000 homes, 375 schools, and monasteries have been obliterated by the storm. The death toll remains in question as social media accounts in Myanmar have suggested that 230 people have died in just the Mandalay region. Currently, the information ministry of Myanmar has reported that emergency and health workers have been positioned in flood-affected areas, funds have been allocated for food and water for evacuees, and responders have started repairing the roads and bridges.
In addition to the devastation of this flood, the country has been wrecked by a three-year civil war which has crippled its economy, necessitating more foreign aid. For context, the Myanmar military staged a coup d’etat against the democratically elected government in February 2021. Since then tens of thousands of people have been killed and 2.7 million people have been displaced. The country’s military has previously thwarted attempts to provide humanitarian aid, like suspending travel authorizations for aid groups after Cyclone Mocha. Agencies like the International Committee of the Red Cross are impeded by the immense security risks and cannot reach the 55 million people (one-third of the population) who require aid.
The US government under the Biden Administration has imposed sanctions on the military regime and funded NGO projects to provide humanitarian assistance and promote democracy. Additionally, the US attempted to coordinate actions against the junta using the UN Security Council, the G-7, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Yet, perhaps the United States also has a responsibility to address the current crisis caused by Typhoon Yagi and similar climate catastrophes. Since 1750, the US has been the leader in cumulative carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuels and industry. The US has released over 400 billion cumulative tons, while the entire European Union and China trail at around 300 billion tons and 250 billion tons, respectively. These carbon emissions trap the sun’s heat leading to global warming and more intense, destructive, and deadly storms, like Typhoon Yagi.
A report released by Georgetown University has identified climate change as an exacerbator of Myanmar’s armed conflict. The article writes, “ Violent conflict… increases vulnerability to climate change by aggravating societal vulnerability and making populations more vulnerable to weather shocks. This suggests a plausible feedback loop of violence and vulnerability, worsened by climate change.”
The United States must reconcile its impact on Myanmar’s conflict and ‘developed’ nations must rectify their impact on the climate crisis as struggling, developing nations bear the brunt of the damage.