The cyclone that struck Myanmar on 2 May 2008 quickly became the country’s most devastating disaster. Cyclonic winds, heavy rainfall and in some coastal areas, a 4 metre tidal surge, left a death toll of 84,537 victims, with 53,836 people regarded as missing and 19,359 injured. Overall, cyclone Nargis severely affected some 2.4 million people (of an estimated 7.35 million people living in the affected townships). Of them, an estimated 200,000 were 55 years or older at the time of the disaster. In addition to the human toll, the cyclone ruined most of the fertile fields, contaminated most of the water supply and destroyed hundreds of thousands of unstable houses and other vital infrastructure such as health facilities.