Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis scrape together an existence amid the devastation. Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers said on Sunday that thousands will die if emergency supplies don't get through soon. Buddhist temples and schools on the outskirts of the storm's trail of destruction are now makeshift refugee centres. The U.N. humanitarian agency said in a new assessment that between 1.2 million and 1.9 million were struggling to survive in the aftermath of the storm that struck eight days ago. In 1991 a cyclone slammed into neighbouring Bangladesh, killing 143,000 people. While Myanmar's reclusive military government is accepting aid from the outside world, including the United Nations, it will not let in the foreign logistics teams. In the delta town of Labutta, where 80 percent of homes were destroyed, authorities were providing one cup of rice per family per day, a European Commission aid official told Reuters. In a blow to the stumbling relief effort a boat carrying some of the first aid to survivors sank, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. The boat was believed to have hit a submerged tree in the Irrawaddy delta. The accident highlighted the enormous logistical difficulties of delivering aid, with roads washed away and much of the delta turned to swamp. Myanmar raised the death toll on Sunday to 28,458 dead and 33,416 m...
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Added: May 29, 2008 |
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| Copyright: GRAPHIC / REUTERS |