Burma’s cyclone death toll tops 10,000

May 5, 2008 – 12:37 pm

Burma’s foreign minister Nyan Win says more than 10,000 people have been killed in a tropical cyclone that struck the country at the weekend.

He told state television information is still being collected, and there could be more casualties.

U.N. officials say hundreds of thousands of people are without shelter and drinking water

State television says more than 2,000 people are missing and tens of thousands more could have perished in other regions, where rescue workers have not yet been able to gauge the scale of the destruction.

The television showed images of entire communities that had flooded since Tropical Cyclone Nargis struck late Friday.

Earlier, state media said tens of thousands of people may have been killed in the township of Bogalay alone.

Regional neighbours have responded quickly with India sending two naval ships loaded with food, tents, blankets, clothing and medicines.

Offers of help also came from Singapore and Thailand, while the European Commission released $3 million in initial emergency aid.

Our South East Asia correspondent Karen Percy reports United Nations agencies and the International Red Cross have teams on the ground trying to determine the extent of the damage.

But road closures, flooding and military controls are reportedly preventing them from reaching the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta region.

Tens of thousands of homes have collapsed or been levelled, leaving their owners without shelter and clean water.

Fears for Burma’s rice supply

The cyclone and flooding in Burma’s two major rice growing areas have potentially serious effects for food supply in two other impoverished countries.

The World Food Programme says it’s not yet known if Burma can meet its commitments to supply tens of thousands of tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka and neighbouring Bangladesh.

Australians urged to contact home

Australia’s foreign affairs Minister Stephen Smith says are been no reports of injuries to any Australians who were in Burma when the cyclone hit.

He says Australians living in Burma should contact friends and family to assure them they are safe.

Source: Radio Australia