A coastal storm has meant crippling floods across many parts of northern Myanmar, leaving families stranded without supplies as rescue workers scramble to reach remote areas where roads are inaccessible.
The weather is so bad that even megastar Angelina Jolie is having trouble getting around and is changing her schedule as a result.
A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency told the Irrawaddy that Jolie was planning on flying to Rakhine to visit IDP camps today, but the rains intervened. Jolie is a UN special envoy for refugee issues.
“She will wait and see what the weather will be like this afternoon,” the spokesman said at the time.
Air traffic in and out of Sittwe had been stopped today because of the weather, an official told the magazine.
Jolie arrived yesterday for a four-day trip with plans to meet President Thein Sein, talk to activists and visit IDP camps in Rakhine – which house mostly Rohingya refugees – and in Kachin state.
But because of the bad weather brought on by Cyclone Komen, she went to Kachin first, DVB is reporting.
She arrived there this afternoon, according to photos of her being greeted posted to DVB’s Facebook page.
Jolie plans to visit IDP camps in Kachin’s Myitkyina.
The British embassy, which is coordinating her visit, said it followed a personal invitation from opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who she has been in touch with since a summit on ending sexual violence in 2014.
In a statement, Jolie said that she’s “looking forward to meeting with many people including women’s groups, civil society, displaced people and youth, to learn firsthand from them about their concerns and hopes for the future of their country.”
“With elections on the horizon in November it is an important moment for people to exercise their democratic rights and help to address the fundamental issues critical to a peaceful future.”
Photo of Jolie in Napyidaw / Shwe Mann / Facebook
