Myanmar Travel News

“We are concerned about the effects on the people. It is clear, from what everyone is saying, the aid effort is far from over.”

The cyclone's official death toll has nearly doubled to almost 78,000 and another 56,000 people remain missing two weeks after the devastating storm, state television reported Friday.

The United Nations, meanwhile, said that severe restrictions by Myanmar's military junta have left aid agencies largely in the dark about the extent of survivors' suffering.

John Holmes, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, will go to Myanmar on Sunday in an attempt to convince junta leaders to grant more access to U.N. relief workers and massively scale up aid efforts, said Amanda Pitt, a U.N. spokeswoman in Bangkok, Thailand. Read more

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“She had no warm clothes to change into”

A man stands among wreckage of a rice mill destroyed by Cyclone Nargis near Bogalay. via TurkishPress.com

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“Myanmese ambassador has assured that the Myanmese government will do all to assist.”

The Red Cross estimated Wednesday that the cyclone death toll in Myanmar could be as high as 128,000 _ a much larger figure than the government tally. The U.N. warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly.

The grim forecast came as heavy rains drenched the devastated Irrawaddy River delta, disrupting aid operations already struggling to reach up to 2.5 million people in urgent need of food, water and shelter.

'Another couple of days exposed to those conditions can only lead to worsening health conditions and compound the stress people are living in,' said Shantha Bloemen, a spokeswoman for UNICEF. Read more

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“Relatives' bodies and animals lay around decaying while the survivors tried to live on coconuts and anything they could scavenge. Orphans roamed around aimlessly.”

As UN estimates of the number of Burmese affected by Cyclone Nargis rose from 1.5 to 2.5 million and the United States and United Nations continued to wrangle with Myanmar's rulers over visas for aid workers, ... via News.ncmonline.com

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“The fact that it is the rice bowl of Myanmar (that has been hit) and that all the stocks of rice have been destroyed -- there is a risk of a catastrophe at the level of famine”

Myanmar tightened access to its cyclone disaster zone Wednesday, turning back foreigners and ignoring pleas to accept outside experts who could save countless lives before time runs out. via The Age

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“Normally they would be saying, 'We are going to stick it out, we don't need anyone's help,'”

Cyclone Nargis may have helped crack the Myanmar military junta's nearly 50 years of closed-door rule, exposing its claims of self-sufficiency. The junta largely succeeded in ignoring international pressure ... via Daily India

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“It's sort of a fortress in the middle of the jungle”

Images of the cyclone-ravaged areas of Myanmar are especially painful for five members of Celebration Church in Green Bay who helped care for children in a church-sponsored orphanage there a little more than a ... via WisInfo

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“The most important objective is to get the humanitarian aid there because there are many ordinary people who are suffering. We have to use all means to help them.”

International aid continued to arrive in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar Tuesday, but criticism mounted as the efforts were hampered by logistics problems and the military junta's bureaucratic stalling. via Tajikistan News.Net

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“AFP "> UN warns of - second disaster”

But Myanmar's military rulers again rejected growing international pressure to open the door to a foreign-run relief effort, insisting against all the evidence that they could handle the emergency alone. via Gulf Times

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SIEM REAP, Cambodia, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Journeys Within Tour Company today announced it is partnering with Journeys Within Our Community , a non-profit organization working in Southeast Asia, to raise funds ... via Earth Times

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