Editing Ayeyarwady Region (section)

== History ==
The Ayeyarwady delta region was Historically part of the [[Mon (ethnic group)|Mon]] kingdoms like the [[Hanthawaddy Kingdom]]. This area fell under Burmese (and occasional [[Arakan|Arakanese]] and Mon) rule from the 11th century AD onwards. Its subsequent history mirrors that of the rest of lower Burma.

An ancient overland pre-[[Tang dynasty|Tang]] trade route from [[Sichuan]] (modern [[Yunnan Province]]) to [[Bengal]] passed through Ayeyarwady.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schafer |first1=Edward H. |title=The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of Tang Exotics |date=1963 |publisher=University of California Press |page=14 |isbn=978-0-520-05462-2}}</ref>

=== Cyclone Nargis ===
{{Main|Cyclone Nargis}}
[[Image:Cyclone Nargis flooding before-and-after.jpg|thumb|Satellite photography of the [[Irrawaddy Delta]] before (top) and after (bottom) Nargis hit the area.]]
Ayeyarwady Region was the site of heavy devastation when [[Cyclone Nargis]] made landfall in early May [[2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season|2008]]. The [[cyclone]] made landfall on the town of Wagon near Haigyi Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/2000s/cyclonenargis/ |title=2008- Cyclone Nargis |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2020 |website=Hurricanes: Science and Society |publisher=The University of Rhode Island |access-date=March 5, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307215012/http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/2000s/cyclonenargis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Labutta Township]] was most heavily struck with around 80,000 deaths. The cyclone's path devastated the low-lying [[Irrawaddy Delta|delta]] regions going through south-central Ayeyarwady Region and [[Bogale]] before entering neighbouring Yangon Region. Nargis was the most expensive tropical cyclone on record in the North Indian Ocean at the time, costing $12 billion in aid.<ref name="TorontoStar0519">{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/article/427381|title=Asian bloc to handle Burma aid|date=19 May 2008|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|access-date=19 May 2008|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331095752/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2008/05/19/asian_bloc_to_handle_burma_aid.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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&nbsp;mph sustained winds and a {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=on}} [[storm surge]]. Foreign relief officials and diplomats said the death toll could exceed 100,000,<ref>{{cite web |title=Burma to Allow 160 Asian Aid Workers |website=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208171111/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051400506.html |archive-date=2020-12-08 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051400506.html}}</ref> making it the worst [[natural disaster]] in the recorded history of Myanmar.<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23664740-12377,00.html "80,000 dead in one Burma province"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417224611/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23664740-12377,00.html |date=17 April 2009 }}, ''[[The Australian]]'', 9 May 2008</ref> The final death toll was at least 146,000 with 90,000 confirmed dead and 56,000 or more missing.<ref name="CNN June 8">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/myanmar.bodies.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText |title=Myanmar cyclone dead will 'never' be identified |date=8 June 2008 |access-date=1 July 2008 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612144607/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/myanmar.bodies.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText |archive-date=12 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>