Written by staff reports
May 6, 2008

UCC members and churches are responding with financial support for cyclone-devastated Myanmar, where thousands have been killed and an estimated 1 million are homeless.

"Immediate relief operations are underway with a comprehensive assessment on-going," according to an issued alert from the UCC's Wider Church Ministries on May 5. "UCC Global Ministries Southern Asia Office and the Church World Service's Asia Regional Office are in direct contact with the Myanmar Council of Churches."

Over the weekend, tropical cyclone Nargis pushed ashore, destroying three-quarters of structures in the Irrawaddy region due to fierce winds and rain. A United Nations relief worker in Yangon tells the Associated Press that villages in the Irrawaddy Delta have been completely flattened.

Contributions to the UCC's Myanmar Cyclone Fund will be designated specifically to help with relief and recovery in Myanmar.