Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Myanmar

Official reports from the government of Myanmar (Burma) cite a death toll of 90 due to the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004.

[4] An NGO estimated that 2,500 citizens of Burma based in Phang Nga Province, Thailand during the event may have been killed, and that 7,000 Burmese were still unaccounted for.

[8] Also contributing is the fact that it is less developed than neighboring Thailand; international disapproval of the Burmese military regime has prevented the country from building a successful tourism industry.

A Yangon-based representative from the United Nations stated, "Conjecture fuelled by the experiences in neighbouring countries created a major and dangerous disconnect with reality".

[9] Burma does not allow journalists into the country and maintained a strong hold on information disseminated in its state-run newspapers - some of which did not acknowledge the tsunami had hit.