Myanmar cyclone toll rises but relief effort lags
Officials say as many as 22,000 are dead. The government says aid groups will be allowed in, but efforts are delayed by visa procedures.
BEIJING — The death toll continued to climb in Myanmar as state media reported Tuesday that more than 22,000 people had died due to a weekend cyclone and more than 41,000 were missing.
Efforts to reach the victims and help the estimated 1 million people left homeless by Tropical Cyclone Nargis remained mired amid bureaucracy, logistical problems and the isolation of many affected areas.
Myanmar's military government has signaled that it will allow international aid groups to enter the insular Southeast Asian country. But many humanitarian groups said they were still waiting for visas and the few on the ground reported shortages of drinking water, food, housing and other necessities.
State television played up the role of soldiers in recovery efforts. CNN showed images of uprooted trees, roofless houses and fishing boats driven onshore by the storm in the Irrawaddy River delta region, regarded as Myanmar's rice bowl.
The cyclone, which brought 120-mph winds and 12-foot storm surges, was believed to be the worst natural disaster to hit Southeast Asia since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed more than 220,000 lives. Myanmar, relatively lightly hit then, opted for financial reasons not to participate in an extensive early warning system set up afterward.
The Myanmar government backed away slightly from its earlier vow to press on with a controversial referendum Saturday on a new constitution. Unaffected areas will still vote, officials said, and hard-hit areas will be given a two-week postponement.
The nation's generals have touted the referendum as a key step toward democracy, but the United States and other critics are skeptical that the regime would loosen its white-knuckle grip on power in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"If they go ahead and hold it, this shows they're out of touch with reality," said Zarni, founder of the London-based Free Burma Coalition, who, like many Myanmar natives, uses only one name. "The young officers are more in touch with the people, but the senior leadership is in a cocoon."
President Bush called on Myanmar's government to let the U.S. military help with disaster relief.
"We're prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation," he said as he signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the regime's nemesis, democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. "But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country."
- So Much Need, So Little Help for the Deathly Ill in Myanmar Dec 27, 2005
- UN keeps pressure on Myanmar to allow in more aid May 20, 2008
- Save us from the rescuers May 18, 2008
