|
![Relief groups say up to two million people are in need of emergency medical and food aid [Reuters]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Sci-Tech/2/3/cyclone-threat-1.jpg "Relief groups say up to two million people are in need of emergency medical and food aid [Reuters]") | | Relief groups say up to two million people are in need of emergency medical and food aid [Reuters] |
Eleven days after Cyclone Nargis left tens of thousands dead in Myanmar, the United Nations has warned that another major storm could be heading for the devastated Irrawaddy delta region.
The UN weather centre is tracking the tropical storm off the coast of Thailand, and has said it could become "a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours".
The warning comes after a major aid group said that hundreds of thousands of survivors from Cyclone Nargis are facing a potentially "apocalyptic" threat from water-borne diseases. Tim Costello, the CEO of Australian charity World Vision, said there were already signs that diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea, dengue fever were starting to take hold. Speaking from Yangon, he said the group's relief workers in the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta were "gravely worried that we are tottering on the edge of this epidemic breaking out.""If it does, its lethal effects will be apocalyptic," he said. On Tuesday the United Nations' emergency relief arm warned Myanmar will "face a catastrophe of monumental proportions" unless aid efforts match the scale deployed during the Asian Tsunami. Aid groups say the first 10 days are critical in getting relief to survivors of any disaster, but almost two weeks on that window has now closed for people in Myanmar. With the death toll from Nargis already topping 34,000, there are reports of soldiers blocking foreign aid workers from reaching some of the worst-hit areas. The military has taken control of foreign aid supplies, and there are suspicions that relief supplies are being misappropriated after victims reported they are receiving poor quality food. The bulk of the aid supplies that have been cleared to land in Myanmar are reported to be stuck on planes at Yangon airport, which does not have the lifting equipment needed to unload it. As a result the few aid agencies allowed to operate in Myanmar say they have only reached a third of the one million people left homeless by the cyclone. On Wednesday Thailand's prime minister left for Myanmar to reportedly pressure the military government to allow international aid workers in by urgently issuing their visas. Samak Sundaravej declined to comment to waiting reporters except to say that he had plans to meet his Myanmar counterpart, Thein Sein, in Yangon. The trip comes after last week's failed attempt by the Thai PM, who was responding to requests from the US, Britain and the UN, to act as mediator with Myanmar's leaders. Samak's delegation was also carrying medical supplies and satellite phones to donate to relief efforts, according to Thai officials.
Recommend this article...
Tags: Cyclone Nargis Myanmar
|
