Myanmar Death Toll May Climb to 10,000

By Pamela Mortimer

A state radio station in Myanmar has reported a death toll of 4,000 caused by Tropical Cyclone Nargis, the devastating storm that swept through the country on Saturday. Approximately 3,000 others are currently missing from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city with a population of 6.5 million people.

On Monday, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister stated that the death toll currently stands at approximately 4,000 lives taken due to the disaster. Reports also indicate that the death toll could climb as high as 10,000 in the Southeast Asian country once known as Burma.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar early Saturday, gusting winds up to 120 mph. The high winds blew roofs off schools and hospitals and was responsible for destroying many other businesses and homes. According to the state radio station broadcasting from Naypyitaw, the country’s capital city, an additional 2,879 people are missing from the small town of Bogalay, located in the Irrawaddy River delta area. The low-lying delta area was the hardest hit by Nargis.

The government had previously reported the death toll at 351 before an increase on Monday took the total to 3,939.

Reports from the countryside have been sporadic because of poor communications. Many roads have been rendered impassable due to debris left by the storm.

"It's clear that we're dealing with a very serious situation. The full extent of the impact and needs will require an extensive on-the-ground assessment," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs located in Bangkok.

"What is clear at this point is that there are several hundred thousands of people in dire need of shelter and clean drinking water," Horsey said.

On Monday, Foreign Ministry officials from Myanmar met with representatives from the U.N., foreign diplomats, and various international aid agencies. The officials said they would welcome any international humanitarian assistance and urgently need medicine, water purifying tablets, roofing materials, blankets, plastic sheets and temporary tents, and mosquito nets.

Thailand announced that it would supply aid to its neighboring country on Tuesday.

Yangon's typically unstable electricity supply has been rendered nonfunctional and city residents are lining up to buy supplies. The most requested goods are candles, which have doubled in price, and water. The shortage of water is due to the absence of electricity required to operate water pumps in residents’ homes. Some have chosen to use the city's lakes to wash.

Some hotels and wealthier families have opted to use private generators but only when absolutely necessary because of the soaring cost of fuel.

Many residents were unable to go to work because they didn’t have transportation or were involved in procuring food and shelter for their families.

"Without my daily earning, just survival has become a big problem for us," said Tin Hla, who operates a roadside umbrella repair stand.

Hla’s family is one of many left homeless due to the violent storm. The family of five has moved into one of the local monasteries that have offered temporary shelter to those in need.

Older residents of Yangon said they had never seen the city so devastated during their lifetimes.