100,000 Feared Dead from Cyclone Nargis

May 7, 2008

It is feared that last Saturday’s cyclone that slammed into Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma, may have killed more than 100,000 people, according to the United States.

A senior US official said the administration had been told of the likely toll but warned that any efforts to accurately estimate the number of casualties was complicated by the fact that Burma had not compiled a census for seven decades.

The grim forecast came as United Nations agencies expressed frustration that their efforts to help the 1m survivors in need were being hindered by the junta’s reluctance to let foreign experts into the country.

Five days after tropical cyclone Nargis devastated the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta and battered its largest city, emergency water, food, tents and other relief materials have trickled in from neighbouring countries.

The devastation is incredible and the thoughts of all Americans, no matter what their political disposition, is with the people of Myanmar.