Having survived the cyclone, the struggle now is for survival. First there is the scramble for fresh water, with long lines all over Yangon to buy it by the bucketload at three times the price.

Then there is the hunt for shelter among the debris in a city where more homes are now without roofs and as desperation grows, there are reports of looting in some markets.

Huge queues snake from those petrol stations still functioning. Fuel price has doubled.

Houses destroyed

Most of the houses have been largely or totally destroyed. People are crammed into the few remaining large buildings, including a school housing 600 children, 450 women and 250 men. The head, U Maung Maung Aye, opened it to anyone who could make it. He shows off a well and a small generator allowing clean water to be pumped. But without assistance, he said, he didn’t know how long he could feed people.

“I have 1,300 refugees who have lost their homes and have nothing left and needed a place to sleep, gather their small belongings, and a place to dry them. I am providing them with two meals out of the generosity of donors. I have two pregnant ladies and they are soon due,” he said.

Among those who took refuge in the school was Shwe Zin, who showed her stitched hand and bandaged head.
“The roof came down on me. I got off lightly but my 19-year-old son is at the hospital with a serious head injury,” she said.

Few were prepared for what happened, which goes some way to explain a death toll in the tens of thousands and may yet rise further.