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Millions Homeless, But Junta Impedes Cyclone Aid

Relief efforts frustrated depite 50K deaths in Burma

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2008 8:01 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The death toll from Burma's devastating cyclone continues to rise—foreign aid workers now believe 50,000 have died, and 2 to 3 million are homeless—but the military junta is keeping international agencies from mounting a coordinated relief effort. A flight carrying UN relief aid is in the works, but UN workers cannot get visas, journalists are barred, and no comprehensive survey of the damage is available.

A spokesman for India's meteorological survey told the Times of London that his agency had alerted the Burmese government to the coming storm several days before impact, but the warnings had no impact. Now, frustrated relief workers are faced with a disaster one called "unprecedented in the history of Burma, and on an order of magnitude with the effect of the tsunami on individual countries."

A dead body is seen in the Pyarmalot river following Cyclone Nargis, in Labutta town, Ayeyarwaddy province, 168 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Yangon on Sunday May 4, 2008.
A dead body is seen in the Pyarmalot river following Cyclone Nargis, in Labutta town, Ayeyarwaddy province, 168 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Yangon on Sunday May 4, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Woman lays the cloth to dry at a market in Yangon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where most of the 22,464 reported victims perished, has remained cut off since Cyclone Nargis hit early Saturday. (AP Photo)
Woman lays the cloth to dry at a market in Yangon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where most of the 22,464 reported...   (AP Photo)
A boy stands at the broken pier following devastating cyclone in Yangon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where most of the 22,464 reported victims perished, has remained cut off since Cyclone Nargis hit early Saturday. (AP Photo)
A boy stands at the broken pier following devastating cyclone in Yangon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where...   (AP Photo)
An aerial shot taken on a flight from Bagan to Yangon, shows flooded rice fields on the outskirt of Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday, May 5, 2008. A U.N. official declared Myanmar's cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta a major, major disaster Wednesday, May 7, with corpses floating in flooded areas and enormous...
An aerial shot taken on a flight from Bagan to Yangon, shows flooded rice fields on the outskirt of Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday, May 5, 2008. A U.N. official declared Myanmar's cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy...   (AP Photo)
People go on their daily business after Cyclone Nargis, amidst toppled trees on the streets in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday May 5, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where most of the 22,464 reported victims perished, has remained cut off since...
People go on their daily business after Cyclone Nargis, amidst toppled trees on the streets in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday May 5, 2008. International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but...   (AP Photo)
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Burma asks UN for help, then denies workers entry
Associated Press

Survivors speaking to journalists may face torture, execution
Der Spiegel

 
cyclone • Cyclone Nargis

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