Heavy Rains Barrel Toward Cyclone-Hit Myanmar

Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar
Associated Press

May 14, 2008

Heavy rains and another potentially powerful storm headed toward Myanmar (Burma)'s cyclone-devastated delta on Wednesday.

The U.N. also warned that inadequate relief efforts could lead to a second wave of deaths among the estimated two million survivors.

The International Red Cross said in a new estimate that the death toll already may be between 68,833 and 127,990. (See photos of the cyclone's devastation.)

The relief agency said it arrived at the number by adding figures gathered in affected areas by other aid groups and organizations and extrapolating the total.

The Myanmar junta said Cyclone Nargis left at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing. U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far. (Get the basics on hurricanes/cyclones.)

Pounding Rain

Rain has been has been pounding the worst-hit area all week, and more is expected in the coming days, compounding the already difficult task of moving supplies over ruined roads. It also poses significant health risks to survivors of the May 3 cyclone. (Read why the cyclone was so deadly.)

"The weather will exacerbate humanitarian conditions for the homeless, many of whom are living under an open sky," said Elizabeth Griffin, a director at Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore.

"Thankfully, no serious outbreaks of bacterial, water or mosquito borne diseases have been reported, but this could change in the next two to three weeks."

The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center had predicted there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area. (See map of where the cyclone hit in the Bay of Bengal.)

But other forecasters were unwilling to make such a prediction.

The news of a possible second cyclone was not broadcast by Myanmar's state-controlled media. But Yangon (Rangoon) residents picked up the news on foreign broadcasts and on the Internet.

"I prayed to the Lord Buddha, Please save us from another cyclone. Not just me but all of Myanmar," said Min Min, a rickshaw driver whose house was destroyed in Cyclone Nargis. Min Min, his wife and three children now live on their wrecked premises under plastic sheets. (Watch survivors tell their stories.)

Relief Workers Let In

Thawat Sutharacha of Thailand's Public Health Ministry said Wednesday the junta has given permission to a Thai medical team to go to the region.

The government separately announced that it will allow 160 relief workers from neighboring countries—India, China, Bangladesh, and Thailand—to come to Myanmar, but it is not clear if they include the Thai medics or whether they will be allowed to travel to the delta.

"The government has a responsibility to assist their people in the event of a natural disaster," said Amanda Pitt, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

"We are here to do what we can and facilitate their efforts and scale up their response. It is clearly inadequate and we do not want to see a second wave of death as a result of that not being scaled up," she said.

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Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.