MGBM01: OFFER TO ASSIST WITH CYCLONE NARGIS

UNCLAS DHAKA 000513 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/ES-O-CMS, EAP/EX, AND EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT BM EAID PREL SUBJECT: MGBM01: OFFER TO ASSIST WITH CYCLONE NARGIS RESPONSE ¶1. (U) All of us at Embassy Dhaka have been following events in Burma related to Cyclone Nargis' devastation closely, and we wish to express our solidarity with our colleagues at Embassy Rangoon. Among the lessons we learned during the response to Cyclone Sidr in November - December 2007 was the need for additional staff with certain skills that were in short supply and high demand. In particular, we needed a surge capacity in our Public Affairs Section and required officers who could be embedded into U.S. military and civilian disaster response teams, including at a forward operating base established in the cyclone affected areas. In order to meet our staffing needs, we reallocated personnel within the mission and utilized TDY personnel detailed to Bangladesh for 2 - 3 week periods. In retrospect, we wish we had been able to identify these requirements much earlier and that we had had additional staff available at the beginning of our response. ¶2. (U) We realize that the situation in Burma is different, and in many ways more challenging, than what we faced. In particular, we were spared any major impact of the storm in Dhaka and it did not affect Embassy operations. Depending on how the humanitarian response evolves in Burma, we stand ready to provide assistance utilizing staff who gained experience during Operation Sea Angel II and the overall USG response to Cyclone Sidr. Moriarty