Up to 10,000 killed in Burma cyclone
Monday, 05 May 2008 18:51
Burma cyclone death toll rises to 350
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The estimated death toll grows in Burma as authorities report up to 10,000 deaths from Cyclone Nargis.
Foreign diplomats in Rangoon were told by government officicals that the total killed by the storm may reach 10,000.
State-run Myaddy television station said five regions had been declared disaster zones.
According to the country's military government, 20,000 homes were destroyed on one island alone.
Both the government and foreign aid workers are struggling to assess the full extent of the damage and the death toll is likely to rise further as authorities make contact with the villages and islands which were in the path of the category three storm.
"The government is having as much trouble as anyone else in getting a full overview. Roads are not accessible and many small villages were hit and will take time to reach," Terje Skavdal, regional head of the United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told Reuters in Bangkok.
Power and telephone lines were brought down by the 190 km (120 mile) per hour winds, severing communications across the region.
UN officials are meeting in Thailand's capital Bangkok to coordinate efforts for an international response to the emergency.
However, the movements of foreign aid workers are restricted in the country, with travel permits and official escorts required.
Foreign Office minister Meg Munn said: "We are deeply concerned by the situation in Burma in the wake of cyclone Nargis, and saddened by the terrible loss of life.
"The priority must be to mobilise aid to all those affected to avoid further suffering.
"We call on the Burmese regime to provide rapid support to its people and to accept international assistance."
Despite the damage, the government said the May 10th referendum to decide on the country's constitution will go ahead as planned.