Myanmar cyclone death toll rises to 34,273, survivors brace for a second cyclone

Cyclone death toll rises to 34,273 in Myanmar

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-14 01:28:59
YANGON, May 13 (Xinhua) --

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis has risen to 34,273 in Myanmar, the state radio reported Tuesday evening.
And 27,836 people still remained missing, and the number of injured stood at 1,403, said the report.

Tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states -- Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon on May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon sustained the heaviest casualties and infrastructure damage.

Affected coastal towns in the southwestern Ayeyawaddy division include Haing Gyi Island, Laputta, Mawlamyinegyun, Kyaiklat, Phyarpon, Bogalay, Pathein and Myaungmya.

Myanmar survivors brace for second cyclone

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-14 14:24:20

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhuanet) --

The first international aid official permitted into Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta described towns rendered unrecognizable, and thousands of survivors without shelter while the Joint Typhoon Warning center said Wednesday another cyclone was forming in the region.

Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the United Nations humanitarian relief program, couldn't say where the landfall would be or when it would become a full-fledged cyclone. But she said the chances of another cyclone were good.

Soldiers have barred foreign aid workers from reaching survivors in the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, but gave access to an International Red Cross representative who returned to Yangon on Tuesday.

"People who have come here having lost their homes in rural areas have volunteered to work as first aiders. They are humanitarian heroes," said Bridget Gardner, the agency's country head.

UN officials warned that the threat was escalating for the 2 million people facing disease and hunger in low-lying areas battered by the storm unless relief efforts increased dramatically.

Eleven days after the tempest, reaching the worst-affected areas was getting more and more difficult.

Gardner and her assessment team were able to visit five locations in the Irrawaddy delta. In one of them, 10,000 people are living without shelter as rain continued to tumble from the sky.

"The town of Labutta is unrecognizable. I have been here before and now with the extent of the damage and the crowds of displaced people, it's a different place," Gardner was quoted as saying in a statement by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

(Agencies)

More international relief supplies flow in Myanmar

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-11 23:15:19

·More aircrafts laden with int'l relief materials touched down at Yangon Int'l Airport Sunday. ·International humanitarian aid has been pouring in Myanmar since Tuesday. ·According to an official updated death toll Sunday, a total of 28,485 people have lost their lives.

YANGON, May 11 (Xinhua) --

More aircrafts laden with relief materials from the international community touched down at the Yangon International Airport Sunday for the delivery to the cyclone-devastated regions of Myanmar, state radio and television reported Sunday evening.

These aid supplies included that from the King of Thailand, International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), Greek, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Petronas of Malaysia and Pakistan.

The relief goods comprise bags of first aid kit, tent, medicine, water purifier, plastics and blanket.

International humanitarian aid has been pouring in Myanmar since Tuesday with aircrafts carrying various relief materials from different countries and organizations landing at the airport one after another for Myanmar's homeless cyclone survivors.

These international organizations and countries also include World Food Program, World Health Organization, Red Cross Society, Prince of Thailand, China, Singapore, Thailand, India, Russia, Italy, Bangladesh, Japan, Laos and Ukraine.

The items comprise mosquito net, power generator, dry potato and pork, instant noodle, high-energy biscuit, cloth, zinc sheet, hammer and nail, and candle.

These international aid goods, along with those donated by different walks of life in Yangon, have been transported by the Myanmar side to the disaster-hit Ayeyawaddy delta region as reported.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has agreed to an offer of the United States to send in humanitarian aid which is scheduled to arrive on Monday.

Myanmar said the best way to help Myanmar is to send in material rather than personnel, clarifying that the country is not yet ready to receive search and rescue teams as well as media personnel.

The deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, severely hit last weekend five divisions and states of Myanmar -- Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon, causing the heaviest ever casualties and infrastructural damage.

According to an official updated death toll Sunday, a total of 28,485 people have lost their lives in the cyclone storm with altogether 33,416 people remained missing.

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