Ayeyarwady Region located in Pathein township. However, hotel and transportation infrastructure is still very poorly developed. The Ayeyarwady delta region was traditionally part of the Mon kingdom. This area fell under Burmese (and occasional Rakhine) rule from the 11th century AD. Its subsequent history mirrors that of the rest of lower Burma. The area was the site of heavy devastation when Cyclone Nargis made landfall in 2008. Burma's state-controlled news media reported that Nargis left more than 66,000 people dead or missing after it struck the Irrawaddy Delta region May 2, unleashing torrential rains, 120 mph sustained winds and a storm surge.
2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season Category 2 cyclones. Cyclone Jasper also moved into the region from the Australian basin at its peak wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) which made it a Category Two cyclone. For the first time since the 1994-95 tropical cyclone season there were no tropical cyclones that developed into a Severe Tropical Cyclone, which have winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph). During September and October 2008, both RSMC Nadi and New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) issued seasonal forecasts which contained information on how many tropical cyclones that were predicted to develop within the