Death toll passes 22,000 in Myanmar cyclone

[Dr.Phool]

Source: MSNBC. com

MSNBC News Services
updated 1 hour, 1 minute ago

YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from a powerful cyclone that slammed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta was raised to more than 22,000 people on Tuesday, state media reported.

An additional 41,000 people were missing as a result of the cyclone, which triggered a massive storm surge that swept inland and left people with nowhere to run, killing at least 10,000 people in one town alone.

"More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe told a news conference in the devastated former capital, Yangon, where food and water supplies are running low.

"The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages," he said, giving the first detailed description of the weekend cyclone. "They did not have anywhere to flee."


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24478247/

[nichomachus]

1. Laura Bush criticizes Myanmar government for not responding fast enough

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0541976420080506

Mrs. Bush, an outspoken critic of Myanmar's generals, also accused the junta of failing to warn its citizens in time about the approaching cyclone that has been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths.

Can you even believe the chutzpah of that dame. What meds do they have her on?

[Dr.Phool]

2. Like her husband responded so fast to Katrina.

[Botany]

3. I heard that ... I though Katrina

Cuba offered us Doctors, tents, food, and labor.
Holland told us that they had some of the world's best
engineers and techs who work on sea walls ready to fly
over here on fighter jets
Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, and so many other
offered and all were turned down.

[RL3AO]

4. For as bad as it was, it could have been much worse.

The storm came from the west. Had it come from the southwest, the surge would have been 20-24 feet, not 12 feet.

[Robbien]

11. The satellite images show that the southern part of the country

as well as the eastern front were pretty hard hit and completely flooded

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=27903

[ensho]

5. how do 22,000 bodies get processed

the stench of death most lie over everything.

[Xithras]

7. They don't, they get burned.

You don't bother doing autopsies or digging graves when you have that many bodies to deal with. If you have bolldozers handy, you dig a bunch of mass graves. If you don't, you stack them up and burn them. Something tells me that rural Burma isn't going to have a lot of spare Caterpillars sitting around.

[uppityperson]

6. k&r, here are some maps...

[NJCher]

8. this is horrifying beyond belief

I just saw this as I did a quick break between classes. This is the first I've heard that the death tolls is this high. I can barely fathom this.

It's overwhelming.



Cher

[defendandprotect]

9. THIS is Global Warming . . . we will have more cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes . . .

everywhere ---

[defendandprotect]

10. There are still more than 40,000 unaccounted for --- plus huge numbers

of displaced/homeless ---

[RL3AO]

12. I'm not debating GW...but

the Bay of Bengal is much colder than normal right now.

[defendandprotect]

14. The earth in balance . . .

[nodehopper]

25. GW isn't about warming everywhere all the time--it's climate change

[scrinmaster]

24. More earthquakes?

Not sure how that works...

[shadowknows69]

13. Inconceivable

Gods please set those souls to rest.

[ohio2007]

15. Death toll 60,000. imo, the regime with held warnings for a reason

60,000 Dead or Missing in Burma

Bush Offers Navy Units, Criticizes Junta as Storm Aid Begins to Reach Rangoon

snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/06/AR2008050600647.html?hpid=topnews


Do they justify not giving warning because now there will be fewer mouths to feed and voices of opposition for change ?


Currently,
the country is living in the stone age now.

[lovuian]

19. its the same tactic as Bush did with Katrina

I weep for Myanmar

http://youtube.com/watch?v=47uB5MVGT0o

this is just the Beginning more and more are going to feel the cost of Global Warming

[ohio2007]

20. Burma death toll could exceed 100,000 ( And where is China's aid offer ? )

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51616a52-1c5e-11dd-8bfc-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIUzLpO1kxI


Chinese hate Myanmar

[ohio2007]

21. Bangladesh sends aid to cyclone-hit Myanmar

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh said Wednesday it sent a plane filled with medicine, food and clothes to neighbouring Myanmar after a devastating cyclone killed at least 22,000 people.


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=116324

[Sabriel]

16. This is where our troops and money should be going right now.

It's obscene that we're killing civilians in Iraq when we could be saving them in Myanmar.

How about if well-off countries got together and formed a disaster task force that could be on the scene in hours in cases like this, rather than using my federal income tax to fund tanks and bombers?

What a concept.

[Mudoria]

17. I'm quite sure we would have troops there as well as Navy

support craft off the Burmese coast IF the ruling regime would allow them to enter the country. At this point it looks like the military rulers of Burma aka Myanmar prefer to keep the country closed to outsiders.

[Thothmes]

22. Day befoe yesterday

The Navy had an Amphibious Ready Group in the Gulf Of Thailand. They are probably enroute to the Indian Ocean now. Should take about four days to get there.

[Sabriel]

18. Kick to remind us that not everyone's focused on Hillbama n/t

[Pietrogustapov]

23. A UN official said 100,000 may have died

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5greyFH3qkj9mc9oagSoulgjN4KHgD90GUV2G1