Up to 2.5 mil affected by Myanmar cyclone: UN
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The United Nations said up to 2.5 million people might have been affected by the Myanmar cyclone and proposed a high-level donors conference as the Myanmar junta again limited foreign aid.
Reuters quoted an European Union top aid official as saying that the military government’s restrictions on foreign aid workers and equipment were increasing the risk of starvation and disease.
According to U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes, between 1.6 and 2.5 million people were “severely affected” by Cyclone Nargis and urgently needed aid, up from a previous estimate of at least 1.5 million.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej met Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein in Yangon and urged him to ease visa rules for relief workers. According to him, he was told Myanmar could “tackle the problem by themselves.”
Reuters said Myanmar state television had raised its official toll to 38,491 dead, 1,403 injured and 27,838 missing.
The International Federation of the Red Cross estimated on the basis of reports from 22 organisations working in Myanmar that between 68,833 and 127,990 people had died.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has repeatedly expressed frustration over the slow response of Myanmar’s reclusive leaders, proposed holding a “high-level pledging conference” to deal with the crisis.
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