Burma cyclone: victims killed by 12ft tidal wave

Most of the victims of the Burma cyclone were overwhelmed by a 12ft moving wall of water that bore down on their lowlying villages at the mouth of the Irrawaddy river delta.

In a rare press conference, members of the Burmese junta today gave the most detailed description to date of the disaster that killed at least 22,000 people at the weekend, and left a further 41,000 missing, according to Burmese state radio.

“More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself,” said Maung Maung Swe, Burma’s Minister for Relief and Resettlement, at a news conference in the rubble-strewn city of Rangoon, where food and water supplies are running low.

Ghosts and smell of victims haunt survivors of the Burma cyclone

The stench of death hung over the Irrawaddy delta town of Labutta, where the blackened bodies of people and animals, rotting in the tropical heat, were washed aground as Burma’s cyclone floodwaters receded.

Struggling to breathe through the overpowering smells, residents wrapped layers of cloth around their faces and rubbed in balm to mask the odour. Death pervades this town so completely that many said they cannot sleep because ghosts of the cyclone victims torment them. One said: “We can’t sleep at night, because we can hear people shouting at night. Maybe these are the ghosts of the villagers.”

US diplomat: 100,000 may have died in Myanmar cyclone

YANGON, Myanmar - Bodies floated in flood waters and survivors tried to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails, while the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said Wednesday that up to 100,000 people may have died in the devastating cyclone.

Hungry crowds stormed the few shops that opened in the country’s stricken Irrawaddy delta, sparking fist fights, according to Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in neighboring Thailand.

Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, said food and water are running short in the delta area and called the situation there “increasingly horrendous.”

Cyclone has devastated Myanmar’s rice region, experts say

BANGKOK, Thailand - Myanmar’s rice-growing heartland has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis, posing worries of long-term food shortages for the impoverished country and political problems for its military regime, experts said Wednesday.

The Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that five states hit hardest by Saturday’s cyclone produce 65 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s rice. The region also is home to 80 percent of its aquaculture, 50 percent of its poultry and 40 percent of its pork production, the FAO said.

Olympic torch enjoying a smooth relay in China

HAIKOU, China - Paramilitary police donned Hawaiian shirts and pink buses shuttled in more cops in camouflage. Security was heavy but officers were markedly relaxed as jubilant crowds, apparently free of protesters, helped kick off the Olympic torch’s tour of China.

“Of course I’m happy, but I can’t talk to you,” one officer said with a smile as the torch was carried through the tropical port city of Haikou on Tuesday. Up to a million people squeezed along the route. “Go China!” they screamed as the flame bobbed by.

Wednesday was apparently another trouble-free day before cheering crowds as the torch made a 10-hour tour through the southern city of Guangzhou, also known as Canton, in China’s prosperous manufacturing center.

So far, the Olympic torch seems to be having a smooth relay in China, uninterrupted by the protests over Tibet and human rights that followed parts of its international tour.

Source: news.yahoo.com

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Cyclone victims face ‘long-term’ food shortages

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) — Myanmar’s rice-growing heartland has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis, threatening long-term food shortages for survivors, experts said Wednesday.

The Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that five states hit hardest by Saturday’s cyclone produce 65 percent of the country’s rice, The Associated Press reported.

The region was also home to 80 percent of its aquaculture, 50 percent of its poultry and 40 percent of its pig production, the FAO said.

Rice is the most important staple in the impoverished country, which has produced enough to feed itself and, more recently, stave off rising prices.