Myanmar : Death Toll Soars to 15,000

news.ert.gr - Tuesday 6th of May 2008

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis that wreaked havoc in Myanmar is believed to have reached 15,000, with the city of Bogale mourning as many as 10,000 people.

The nation’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win said that another 30,000 had gone missing, while the victims could be much more, since authorities have not yet reached the isolated villages of the hardest-hit areas. The UN has said that hundreds of thousands of people have been left without clean water and shelter. World Vision humanitarian organisation, one of the few taking actions in Myanmar, has warned the long-term repercussions could be far worse than those the tsunami that ravaged the NE Asian nations in 2004 left in its wake. Myanmar’s leaders said they would accept international aid, a fact that according to foreign correspondents mirrors the scale of the disaster.

Aid Distribution Viewed as Harsh

UN crews have started visiting some of the hardest-hit areas, however, aid distribution is viewed as a major challenge for the crews and humanitarian bodies, since Myanmar’s already insufficient infrastructure has been severely damaged.

Providing the homeless with shelter and clean water is a prime concern, commented a UN official, further underlining that the hardest of all is to reach the Irrawaddy delta, which took the brunt of the weekend storm.

While the cyclone was in full swing, 67 vessels and some ferries in the Delta sank, and several ports were badly damaged. The power network went off, telecommunications paralyzed and irrigation pipelines were destroyed.

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