May 5, 2008 / 18:03 pm
Relief agencies are pleading for government cooperation in response to the devastating cyclone in Myanmar that has killed almost 4,000 people, leaving thousands missing and hundreds of thousands homeless. According to diplomats who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister Nyan Win said at a closed-door briefing that the death toll could rise to more than 10,000.
On Saturday Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian country with wind speeds nearing 120 miles per hour. A radio station in the capital city Naypyitaw said that 2,879 people are unaccounted for in a single town, Bogalay, which is located in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta where the storm was most damaging.
The Associated Press reports that the cyclone blew roofs off of hospitals and schools and cut electricity in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Citizens have lined up to buy candles and water. The failure of electric water pumps has left most households dry.
The ruling military junta of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has spurned the international community for decades. It appealed for aid on Monday, but the U.S. State Department said Myanmar’s government had not granted permission for a Disaster Assistance Response Team to enter the country.