***UPDATE on May 13***
Traveling 22 hours overland to Laputta, the hardest hit area in the Delta region, a JDC representative reports that “people are left without anything, there is hardly any assistance going through. The situation in the town and the surrounding area is catastrophic. All public facilities are badly damaged, the town is flooded and the majority of houses (or rather huts) are completely destroyed.”

The JDC representative also met with the Director General of the Ministry of Health, who reported that no foreign medical aid or personnel assistance is being invited into the area. There are no trucks or lights in the area and the situation is one of “complete destitution.”

To respond to the Cyclone’s catastrophe, JDC distributed hundreds of bottles of water and is working in coordination with the local Israeli Ambassador in Yangon to quickly send a shipment of emergency relief supplies from Israel set to arrive in the next couple of days. A group of Israeli doctors arrived over the past weekend. JDC has also established a network with local and international NGO and will be working with PACT, a microfinance organization with a large network of working projects and capacity in the local area as well as World Concern, a Christian faith-based NGO from Seattle and member of InterAction that has worked in the country for 12 years.

Please see below for more information about JDC work to assist cyclone victims in need.

NEW YORK, May 12, 2008 –  Our overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, is collecting funds to directly assist cyclone victims on a non-sectarian basis in immediate response to cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar on May 2-3. JDC has been coordinating activities with local, established international NGOs and working on a large-scale humanitarian aid effort in coordination with Israeli relief organizations. In the worst hit areas surrounding the Irrawaddy delta, where only local people and NGOs have been granted entry, JDC’s partners, Myanmar Compassion Project (MCP) and Karym Baptist Convention (KBC), are working to provide food and fresh water.

JDC has also established a partnership with World Concern, a Christian faith-based NGO from Seattle and members of InterAction that has worked in the country for 12 years and will be meeting with Buddhist representatives of local organizations and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). JDC’s active partners in Israel include: MASHAV, The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid (IsraAID) and Magen David Adom (MDA - Israel's Red Cross, part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) as well as Fast Israel Rescue and Search Teams (F.I.R.S.T.) and Israeli Flying Aid, who work in full coordination and under the IsraAID umbrella.

The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR), a coordinated group of North American Jewish organizations, has formed the Jewish Coalition for Myanmar Cyclone Relief and will meet on Monday, May 12 to discuss next steps. JDC representatives reported that the roof of Myanmar’s only synagogue has been completely destroyed and will need replacement. Five of the eight Jewish families in the region lost their homes.

“Similar to our response to the Tsunami in Southeast Asia, JDC has quickly mobilized to develop partnerships, assess damage, and to assist those devastated by this catastrophic disaster,” said Steve Schwager, Chief Executive Officer, JDC. “Now and in the months to come we will work to provide both immediate relief and long-term assistance to help the cyclone victims rebuild their lives,” he added.