Cyclone Nargis by carrying out "forced airdrops" to deliver aid. On 5 May, US Chargé d'Affaires in Myanmar Shari Villarosa declared a disaster due to the effects of Cyclone Nargis. In response, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and immediately provided $2 million to UNICEF, WFP, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for emergency food, water and sanitation, and shelter assistance. On 6 May, an additional $3 million from USAID was allocated for the provision of emergency relief assistance, including $1 million to the American Red Cross and
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