Myanmar Says Cyclone Death Toll 15, 000 And Set to Rise

[FourScore]

Source: Reuters

YANGON (Reuters) - At least 15,000 people were killed in the Myanmar cyclone and the toll was likely to rise as officials made contact with the worst-hit areas, the military government's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Nyan Win said on state television that 10,000 people had died in just one town, Bogalay, as he gave the first detailed account of what is emerging as the worst cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people were killed in Bangladesh.

"In Irrawaddy Division the death toll amounts to more than 10,000," he said in a state television broadcast, in which he also said the military government welcomed outside assistance, an unprecedented green light to governments and aid agencies who want to help with the recovery.

"The missing is about 3,000. In Bogalay, the death toll is about 10,000," the minister said in the broadcast monitored outside of the Southeast Asian country...

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-myanmar-cyclone.html

[uppityperson]

1. Here are some links and maps that can explain some of geography.

This reminds me of the tsunami, in that numbers rose and rose and rose. I doubt that they will have final numbers for a while, hope that help is getting to some places.

From wunderground (I tried earlier to put in maps directly from places but couldn't, so here you go)

[FourScore]

2. Thank you for this. n/t

[Zachstar]

3. My god... And how many more are going to die from being without shelter and food?

[maddezmom]

4. Myanmar cyclone death toll soars past 22,000: state radio

Myanmar cyclone death toll soars past 22,000: state radio 20 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - The cyclone death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others were missing as the international community prepared to rush in aid after the country's deadliest storm on record, state radio reported.

Up to 1 million people may be homeless after Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, early Saturday. Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out, the World Food Program said.

Images from state television showed large trees and electricity poles sprawled across roads and roofless houses ringed by large sheets of water in the Irrawaddy River delta region, which is regarded as Myanmar's rice bowl.

"From the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge," Mac Pieczowski, who heads the International Organization for Migration office in Yangon, said in a statement.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080506/ap_on_re_as/myanmar_cyclone;_ylt=Ans_S7t.2sssKGvmt48HDkBvaA8F

:(