Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

World 'Knew' About Cyclone, Expert Says

Burma says it warned citizens 5 days before landfall

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted May 9, 2008 9:20 PM CDT

(Newser) – Burma says it warned its people of Cyclone Nargis 5 days before landfall, when it learned of the storm over news wires—but one expert believes Burma's media outlets were too primitive to spread the message. With Burma's death toll as high as 100,000, Newsweek talked to a global weather analyst about the warning that failed to reach Burma's people.

“You have to have infrastructure to get information like this out,” said Paul Drewniak, the manager of the Global Forecast Center. “It's pretty much the media outlets. And that's why it's so unsettling in (Burma), because this was a global news story. You would think the media there would have at least had a high-level notice this was coming.”

Residents of Yangon walk past downed trees Tuesday.
Residents of Yangon walk past downed trees Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Democratic Voice of Burma, HO)
Map with elevation and other data shows the path of Cyclone Nargis.
Map with elevation and other data shows the path of Cyclone Nargis.   (AP Photo)
This image provided by NASA shows Cyclone Nargis as it approaches the coast of Bangladesh Thursday May 1, 2008.
This image provided by NASA shows Cyclone Nargis as it approaches the coast of Bangladesh Thursday May 1, 2008.   (AP Photo)
In this photograph released by Democratic Voice of Burma on Friday, bodies of children killed during Cyclone Nargis lay in the water in an unknown location in Myanmar.
In this photograph released by Democratic Voice of Burma on Friday, bodies of children killed during Cyclone Nargis lay in the water in an unknown location in Myanmar.   (AP Photo/str)
An elderly Myanmar woman lays waiting for help in a hut following last weekend's devastating cyclone, in Kun Chan Gone township, near Yangon.
An elderly Myanmar woman lays waiting for help in a hut following last weekend's devastating cyclone, in Kun Chan Gone township, near Yangon.   (AP Photo/Democratic Voice of Burma)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne