Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 3, 2008 2:30:06 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Cyclone Death Toll 22,000 and Climbing

Posted May 6, 08 7:16 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – The cyclone that ripped through Burma has claimed at least 22,000 lives, the military junta said today, and more than 40,000 remain missing. The scope of the disaster forced military leaders to postpone a constitutional referendum—designed to cement their grip on power—in the worst-hit regions, the New York Times notes. The vote is still scheduled to take place Saturday in the rest of the country.

The worst cyclone since 1991 has led the isolated military dictatorship to accept foreign aid, a gesture it rejected in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami. Relief organizations have been allowed to send in extra personnel, and the EU has dispatched three ships freighted with food. Burma watchers are now wondering what impact the cyclone will have on the future of the junta, already battered by last year's monk-led uprising.

Sources BBC, New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Suu Kyi's Silence Troubles Followers

    Nov 11, 08 3:26 PM CST
    Suu Kyi's Silence Troubles Followers Aung San Suu Kyi, who’s spent 20 years under house arrest, is an almost sainted symbol of democracy to the people of Burma, the Guardian writes. But since 2003, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has  offered no practical leadership for her party, the National League for Democracy, and has remained inexplicably silent as a monks' uprising was brutally crushed, and a cyclone killed 170,000 Burmese. Some within the party are seriously questioning her legacy. More »

  • Secret Court Sentences Burmese Activists to 65 Years

    Nov 11, 08 7:28 AM CST
    Secret Court Sentences Burmese Activists to 65 Years A closed-door court in Burma has sentenced 14 members of a noted pro-democracy organization to 65 years each. Family members and defense lawyers were not permitted at the trial, and relatives only heard of the sentence from prison officials. The activists were members of 88 Generation Students, a group formed out of the crushed 1988 democracy uprising; many played a part in last year's mass protests against the Burmese junta.
    More »

  • Burma Still Cleaning Up 6 Months Later

    Nov 2, 08 7:18 PM CST
    Burma Still Cleaning Up 6 Months Later Six months after Cyclone Nargis smashed into Burma's coastline, killing tens of thousands of people, aid groups say once-lagging relief efforts have picked up pace but the task of rebuilding and recovery is far from finished, the AP reports. Foreign aid staffers were initially barred from cyclone-affected areas and the ruling military junta was criticized for its ineffective response to the disaster last May.
    More »

  • Young Burmese Monks Ready to Take Up Arms

    Sep 20, 08 6:41 AM CDT
    Young Burmese Monks Ready to Take Up Arms After seeing nonviolent protesters killed or detained in last year’s protests against the ruling junta, younger segments of Burma’s Buddhist monks are becoming more radical, embracing armed resistance and overt dissent, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "We need weapons,” one young monk said. “That is the only way we can bring down this regime." More »

  • Suu Kyi Rejects Food Deliveries, Sparks Rumors of Hunger Strike

    Aug 26, 08 12:23 PM CDT
    Suu Kyi Rejects Food Deliveries, Sparks Rumors of Hunger Strike Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has refused food deliveries to her house for two weeks, prompting speculation that she is on a hunger strike against the government, the AP reports. Supporters say she's grown increasingly frustrated with the UN's failure to intervene in the junta-ruled nation—the Nobel Prize laureate refused to meet with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his visit last week. More »

A Myanmar Buddhist Monk makes his way past a fallen tree following a devastating cyclone, Sunday, May 4, 2008, in Rangoon. The death toll is now at 15,000 and expected to rise.   (AP Photo/Barry Broman)
Burmese make their way through fallen trees Sunday, May 4, 2008, following cyclone Nargis. The death toll is now at 15,000 and expected to rise.   (AP Photo/Barry Broman)
Monks clear road damaged by cyclone in Rangoon. The death toll is now at 15,000 and expected to rise.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Yunfei)
A photo released by Democratic Voice of Burma shows some of the devastation following tropical cyclone Nargis. The death toll is now at 15,000 and expected to rise.   (AP Photo/ Democratic voice of Burma)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

Burma • Myanmar • natural disaster • Cyclone Nargis • cyclone


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »