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10,000 possibly killed by 120mph cyclone in Myanmar

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M

MassiveAttack

Banned
Surprised that this hasn't been posted yet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080505/ap_on_re_as/myanmar_cyclone

Cyclone death toll nears 4,000 in Myanmar, state radio says
1 hour, 17 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - Almost 4,000 people were killed and nearly 3,000 others are unaccounted for after a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, a state radio station said Monday.

Foreign Minister Nyan Win told foreign diplomats at a briefing that the death toll could reach 10,000, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was held behind closed doors.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, early Saturday with winds of up to 120 mph, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

The government had previously put the death toll countrywide at 351 before increasing it Monday to 3,939.

The radio station broadcasting from the country's capital, Naypyitaw, said that 2,879 more people are unaccounted for in a single town, Bogalay, in the country's low-lying Irrawaddy River delta area where the storm wreaked the most havoc.

"Reports are coming out of the delta coast, particularly the Irrawaddy region, that in some villages up to 95 percent of houses have been destroyed," said Matthew Cochrane at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Geneva headquarters.

The situation in the countryside remained unclear because of poor communications and roads left impassable by the storm.

"Widespread destruction is obviously making it more difficult to get aid to people who need it most," said Michael Annear, regional disaster management coordinator for the federation.

In Washington, the State Department said the U.S. Embassy in Yangon had authorized an emergency contribution of $250,000 to help with relief efforts. But it added that the Myanmar government initially had refused to allow a U.S. Disaster Assistance Response Team into the country to assess damage.

"We have a DART team that is standing by and ready to go into Burma to help try to assess needs there," deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. "As of this moment, the Burmese government has not given them permission, however, to go into the country so that is a barrier to us being able to move forward."

At a Monday meeting with foreign diplomats and representatives of U.N. and international aid agencies, Myanmar's foreign ministry officials said they welcomed international humanitarian assistance and urgently need roofing materials, plastic sheets and temporary tents, medicine, water purifying tablets, blankets and mosquito nets.

Myanmar Red volunteers already were distributing some basic items, Cochrane said.

The World Food Program has pre-positioned 500 tons of food in Yangon and plans to bring in more relief supplies, said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

U.N. agencies were working with the Red Cross and other organizations to see how it can help those affected by the cyclone. UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau said the U.N. children's agency alone has five teams assessing the situation in the country.

The cyclone blew roofs off hospitals and schools and cut electricity in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. Older citizens said they had never seen the city of some 6.5 million so devastated in their lifetimes.

With the city's already unstable electricity supply virtually nonfunctional, citizens lined up to buy candles, which doubled in price, and water since lack of electricity-driven pumps left most households dry. Some walked to the city's lakes to wash.

Hotels and richer families were using private generators but only sparingly, given the soaring price of fuel.

Many stayed away from their jobs, either because they could not find transportation or because they had to seek food and shelter for their families.

"Without my daily earning, just survival has become a big problem for us," said Tin Hla, who normally repairs umbrellas at a roadside stand.

With his home destroyed by the storm, Tin Hla said he has had to place his family of five into one of the monasteries that have offered temporary shelter to those left homeless.

His entire morning was taken up with looking for water and some food to buy, ending up with three chicken eggs that cost double the normal price.

Despite the havoc wreaked by the cyclone across wide swaths of the country, the government indicated that a referendum on the country's draft constitution would proceed as planned on May 10.

"It's only a few days left before the coming referendum and people are eager to cast their vote," the state-owned newspaper Myanma Ahlin said Monday.

At the meeting with diplomats, Relief Minister Maj. Gen. Maung Maung Swe said the vote could be postponed by "a few days" in the worst-affected areas. However, the foreign minister intervened to say the matter would be decided by the official referendum commission.

Pro-democracy groups in the country and many international critics have branded the proposed constitution as merely a tool for the military's continued grip on power.

Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and crushing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box.
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Keylime

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Myanmar Government Official said:
We estimate that the death toll should be about 351 people
Click to expand...
Mathematician said:
*whisper whisper whisper*
Click to expand...
Myanmar Government Official said:
I have been informed by someone that I forgot to carry the 1, and therefore the death toll is estimated at 3,939... I apologize for the false sense of security I conveyed to the people
Click to expand...
Foreign Minister Nyan Win said:
*whisper whisper whisper*
Click to expand...
Myanmar Government Official said:
Eh hem! It appears as though I have misspoke again. I have just been informed that the death toll is probably OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
This is surely what happened.
 
M

MassiveAttack

Banned
bengraven said:
In America, a few farmers are killed.

In Myanmar, 10,000.
Click to expand...

This is true. There is barely any coverage of this on the news channels. One of the reasons, of course, is that camera crews can't get into Myanmar. The other reason is simply because it's a regime hostile to US interests.

Perhaps McCain will come out with a statement saying they deserved it.
 
Keylime

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Crushed said:
holy shit shut up
Click to expand...
My post > Rambo = 150mph cyclone

Handle it!
 
A

AmMortal

Banned
MassiveAttack said:
This is true. There is barely any coverage of this on the news channels. One of the reasons, of course, is that camera crews can't get into Myanmar. The other reason is simply because it's a regime hostile to US interests.

Perhaps McCain will come out with a statement saying they deserved it.
Click to expand...


Oh well it wasn't as bad as 9/11.

/sarcasm.
 
Keylime

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
On a more serious note, it really goes to show you how crazy things can get in the world.

People are talking about Katrina in the US...but that doesn't sound anywhere near the level of devastation that just took place here.

Out of control crazy.
 
T

Tim-E

Member
:( This is absolutely terrible. It's even more depressing that this will barely get any mention on the news here.
 
V

Vicious

Member
I think a lot of people in this thread are confusing cyclone with tornado. A cyclone is another name for a hurricane.
 
W

WickedAngel

Banned
MassiveAttack said:
Er, ever seen what a 120mph wind can do?
Click to expand...

I was being sarcastic. Haven't you ever seen Twister?

Vicious said:
I think a lot of people in this thread are confusing cyclone with tornado. A cyclone is another name for a hurricane.
Click to expand...

I certainly did. I've never seen the word used in a report...they typically go with hurricane.
 
G

Gig

One man's junk is another man's treasure
WickedAngel said:
I was being sarcastic. Haven't you ever seen Twister?
Click to expand...

That movie was awesome, except for that part at the end, that was awful.
 
M

MassiveAttack

Banned
WickedAngel said:
I was being sarcastic. Haven't you ever seen Twister?



I certainly did. I've never seen the word used in a report...they typically go with hurricane.
Click to expand...

Yea, sorry - I know what you mean.

The word "cyclone" is commonly used in Asia Pacific in place of "hurricane".
 
A

AmMortal

Banned
madara said:
Egads, that is terrible. Unfortunately this only the beginning of these coming disasters.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of:
pinky_and_the_brain.jpg
 
K

Kodiak

Not an asshole.
Don't know whats scarier, the cyclone, or the fact that it took 29 posts to see some any expression of sadness for this horrible thing.

The Heath Ledger is Dead thread was nothing but "Oh noes! I'm so sad!" for the first 5 pages.


:(
 
S

saelz8

Member
RIP

Can't imagine the hardship some of these people are going through right now. Entire villages just washed away, entire families ruined.
 
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