Number of Dead, Injured Expected to Climb in Burma

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Burma's junta declared five disaster zones on Sunday—Rangoon, Irrawaddy, Pegu divisions as well as Karen and Mon states—after devastating cyclone Nargis slammed into mainland Burma on Saturday.

Rangoon's Traders Hotel is seen in the background as a vehicle carrying men drives past a damaged billboard in the former capital on May 4, a day after Rangoon was hit by a cyclone. (Photo: Reuters/DVB/Handout)

At least 240 people have died across Burma, authorities said. The number of injured was not available, but it is believed to be high.

"According to the latest information we have, altogether 19 people were were killed in Rangoon Division, and then about 222 people were killed in Irrawaddy Division," an Information Ministry official told Agency France Press.

The number of dead and injured is expected to climb as local officials and media-shy authorities slowly make contact with outlying towns and villages along the coast and in central Burma.

The overseas Burmese community has been searching for information about relatives and loved ones, further clogging Burma’s telecommunication system, which is barely functioning, if at all, in many cities.

Cyclone Nargis—rated a Category 3 storm—ripped through the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon on Saturday morning, tearing off roofs, uprooting trees and knocking out electricity with wind speeds reaching 190 kilometers per hour (120 mph).

Therje Skavdal, the Bangkok-based regional head of the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told Reuters: "It's early, and it will take a few days before we get an overview of the damage."

Residents walk past fallen trees on a street in Rangoon, Burma's largest city on Saturday. Tropical Cyclone Nargis ripped through Rangoon early Saturday, tearing off roofs, uprooting trees and knocking out electricity. (Photo: Xinhua)

An estimated 7.03 million people were affected by the storm. In addition, an estimated 1.82 million people who live in coastal areas below 5 meters could have been hard hit by a surge of water up to 12 feet (3.5 meters), according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System.

  Structures have been damaged or collapsed in towns throughout the Irrawaddy delta, where the massive cyclone hit on Friday night having gathered power in the tropical waters of the Bay of Bengal. Three out of four buildings were collapsed in Laputta and Kyaik Lat, state media reported.

Official media said seven vessels sank in the Rangoon harbor.

The Rangoon Airport has been closed. All incoming domestic flights were diverted to Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, in the middle of Burma. Thai Airways in Bangkok said its flights would not resume before Monday.

Meanwhile, the junta formed a national central committee for natural disasters, with Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein as chairman, to coordinate relief and aid efforts.
Some police and army personnel have been deployed throughout the worst hits areas to start the clean-up operation, said AFP.

Military personnel attempt to remove fallen trees from a road in Burma after a cyclone in this television grab May 4. (Photo: Reuters/MRTV)

However, Rangoon residents who are experienced with natural disasters are already complaining bitterly about the slow response from the military government.  "Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat monks and civilians?" one woman asked. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the area and restore electricity."

A 35-year-old resident in Kyaukpadaung Township in Mandalay division asked where are the Union Solidarity and Development Association members.
"They were so active in the September uprising.