The
Irrawaddy Delta or
Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the
Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in
Burma that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at
Myan Aung to the
Bay of Bengal and
Andaman Sea, 290 km to the south at the mouth of the
Ayeyarwady River. The
delta region is densely populated, and plays a dominant role in the cultivation of rice in rich
alluvial soil as low as just 3 metres above sea level, although it also includes fishing communities in a vast area full of rivers and streams. On 2 May 2008, the delta suffered a major disaster, devastated by
Cyclone Nargis, which reportedly killed over at least 77,000 people with over 55,900 missing, and left about 2.5 million homeless.