Burma unlocks aid as toll hits 4000
6/5/08
The death toll from Cyclone Nargis last night rose more than 10-fold to nearly 4000, with another 3000 missing, as rescuers made contact for the first time with devastated districts 72 hours after the hurricane hit Burma. Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win said the death toll could reach 10,000. State television said tens of thousands more could have perished in areas where rescue workers had not yet been able to gauge the full devastation of the category-three cyclone. As the scale of the devastation unfolded, Burma’s reclusive military regime said it would allow in international aid for the first time since Nargis tore through the Irrawaddy delta late on Friday (Saturday AEST), before hitting Rangoon 220km to the northeast. Earlier official reports put the death toll at 351, but the number of casualties had been expected to rise as authorities made contact with hard-hit islands and villages in the country’s rice bowl.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23652679-2703,00.html
At least 10,000 dead in cyclone; 6/5/08; http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23652714-12335,00.html
Survivors of cyclone left with nothing; Hla Hla Htay; 6/5/08; http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23652207-25837,00.html
Tags: Burma, Environment