Myanmar says cyclone death toll tops 22000
YANGON (AFP) — More than 22,000 people were killed in Myanmar’s devastating cyclone and 41,000 are still missing four days after the storm slammed into the country’s southern coast, the government said Tuesday.
Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region, which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of utter devastation with homeless survivors running low on food and water.
Witnesses described horrific images of rice fields littered with corpses, and there were fears the death toll could rise much further.
Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in the secretive and impoverished Southeast Asian country, said it expected the toll to climb as high as 50,000.
“If at this stage, only four days in, the government are telling us the numbers are already reaching over 20,000 and there are 40,000 people missing, I think it could well go higher,” spokesman Dan Collinson told AFP.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it went as high as 50,000,” he said.
US President George W. Bush urged Myanmar’s military rulers to allow in international help, saying he was prepared to send navy ships to help the recovery.
“We want to do a lot more,” he said. “Our message is to the military rulers: let the United States come to help you, help the people.”
The White House later announced it was offering an additional three million dollars in aid, building on its initial offer of 250,000 dollars.
A Pentagon spokesman said the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship with 1,800 marines aboard, and three other naval vessels were off the coast of Thailand and could be redirected to Myanmar if asked to do so.
But the junta insisted foreign aid teams would have to negotiate before being allowed to operate here, and many agencies said they were still waiting for visas to allow their staff into the country.
Tags: bogalay, myanmar
May 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
And “America” was stolen from the natives but we still use that name.(Also my ‘Burmese’ friends call it Myanmar themselves)
May 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
You misspelled Burma.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
The Spiegel magazine writes by now about 63.000 people dead or missing and that the junta is still hindering the work of the aid organizations.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Actually, both names were in use for centuries.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
How about ignorant instead?
May 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Actually it’s even more complicated and both names are as well legitimate as controversial. Better check the Wikipedia for this.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Only those who support a dictatorship.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I’m afraid to say, yes.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Oh poor European tourists, I hope no one was hurt.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
The CNN article has been updated; it says 22k.I don’t even know if I can send money to help or if it would all go to the government and make things worse:-/
May 6th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
According to Wikipedia: In the Burmese language, Burma is known as either Myanma ( ) or Bama ( ). Myanma is the written, literary name of the country, while Bama is the oral, colloquial name of the country. Burmese, like Javanese and other languages of Southeast Asia, has different levels of register, with sharp differences between literary and colloquial language… both names have been in use alongside each other for centuries.permalinkparentJohnStanier (1 child) [+]JohnStanier 1 point 6 hours ago [-]Colour me confused.