Myanmar Cyclone Death Toll Continues Climbing

The people of Burma-Myanmar continue to suffer horrendously as the official death toll continues climbing, and the real toll may be far higher. It appears that at least 10,000 people died in one town alone, and the toll is likely to exceed 30-40,000.

The death toll from a powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar three days ago rose to 22,500 Tuesday, with a further 41,000 people still missing, the government said, and foreign governments and aid organizations began mobilizing for a major relief operation.
Shaken by the scope of the disaster, the authorities said they would delay a vote in the worst affected areas on a new constitution that was meant to cement the military’s grip on power.

The death toll was the latest in a steadily escalating official count since Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar early Saturday, devastating much of the fertile Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon, the nation’s main city.

At a news conference in Yangon, the minister for relief and resettlement, Maung Maung Swe, said 41,000 people were still missing in the aftermath of the cyclone, which triggered a surge of water inland from the sea.

“More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," he said, in the first official description of the destruction. “The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages. They did not have anywhere to flee.”

A spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program said that as many as one million people might have lost their homes and that some villages were almost totally destroyed.

Recall that on Sunday the government claimed that only 351 people died. Only yesterday did government officials admit that the death toll was several magnitudes larger - that up to 10,000 were killed.

Even that figure was low-balling, and now the government is looking to postpone a constitutional referendum, which was meant to further insulate the military junta from opposition.

The failure of the government to deal with the natural disaster is only going to feed opposition to the junta and may prove to be the spark that finally gets the Burmese people to rid themselves of the repressive and totalitarian regime.

UPDATE:
The Bush Administration is calling on the junta to allow foreign assistance as Red Cross workers are waiting for visas to be approved. With the US Navy operating in the Indian Ocean, it wouldn't be long until US Navy ships were operating offshore and assisting in relief operations should the junta allow it. Of course, the sight of those US helicopters ferrying supplies into the devastated areas would be a tremendous blow to the junta, whose insular and repressive methods have enabled them to remain in power but at the tremendous cost in Burmese lives.

UPDATE:
Reports indicate that the Indian government gave the junta two days of lead time to prepare for the landfall of the cyclone. Looks like they were just as effective as the Louisiana government and are now flailing about hoping that someone else will bail them out.

Meanwhile, Al Gore is using this tragedy to claim that it's a sign that global warming is causing the destruction. What a tool - and fool. The failure to respond to warnings did more to cause the death toll and devastation than global warming. The failure to improve the wealth and well being of the citizens did more to cause the devastation in Burma than global warming. Or that the scientists at the IPCC have had to admit that the global climate temps have been flat since 1998.

UPDATE:
Via CNN:

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had released $190,000 to help with the aftermath of the storm, the U.S. has pledged $3.25 million, the European Commission $3.1 million, Canada $2 million, China $1 million in aid including relief materials worth $500,000 and Thailand $100,000.

That's a paltry amount to assist in the relief and recovery efforts, but considering that the junta is busy dragging its feet, one can understand why countries are reluctant to send aid - as it may end up never being used by the junta at all.