Flood relief to Myanmar

In response to the severe flooding in Myanmar, Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has pledged 100,000 U.S. dollars in relief to the affected communities, SRC said on Tuesday.

These relief items include food, medicine, blankets, clean drinking water and hygiene kits. A SRC team will be deployed to Myanmar later this week to distribute the supplies, working together with the Myanmar Red Cross. A medical team is also on standby to be deployed if the situation calls for it.

SRC has also activated its Restoring Family Links (RFL) service to assist the community in locating their immediate family members who may have been affected by the disaster and with whom they have difficulty contacting.

"We remain in contact with the Myanmar Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) to closely monitor the situation in affected areas, and to explore what else we can do to support the relief efforts," said Benjamin William, Singapore Red Cross Secretary General/CEO.

"The prediction is for the heavy rains and strong winds to continue over the next few days and the situation could worsen," he added.

The floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar have left at least 60 people dead and affected as many as 200,000 people as of Aug. 3, according to the Myanmar government.