BURMA - F24 REPORT

Burma cyclone toll soars to 78,000

Friday 16 May 2008

Burmese state television on Friday nearly doubled the official death toll in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, putting the figure at 77,738 with around 56,000 still missing. FRANCE 24's Anaïs Boussat and Alice Beaumont report from Burma.

Watch our Top Story to find out more about hampered efforts to assist the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Torrential tropical downpours lashed Burma's Irrawaddy delta on Friday, deepening the misery of an estimated 2.5 million homeless survivors of Cyclone Nargis and further hampering the military government's aid efforts.

Despite the latest storm, which is likely to turn already damaged roads to mud in the swamp-covered region, the country’s ruling generals insist their relief operations are running smoothly.

But FRANCE 24’s correspondent Cyril Payen, reporting from the Burma – Thailand border, says “A lot of districts in the delta have received absolutely no help.” The damage in certain areas has yet to be ascertained, he reports, as helicopters have not flown over certain areas.

“Absolutely inflexible”

Suspicious of outside influence, the military junta is maintaining a blackout on worst-hit Irrawaddy delta. “It’s a region where only local aid workers – not foreign workers – are allowed to go,” according to  FRANCE 24’s special envoy in Burma Alice Beaumont.

Four US C-130 planes landed in Rangoon Friday and "two of the shipments were handed directly" to non-governmental organizations, said US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Although he declined to name the NGOs, McCormack said it was the first time the Burmese military did not take possession of some of the US aid

The US was planning more flights for Saturday and Sunday and the Burmese government was organizing a trip of diplomats to the affected areas over the weekend, said McCormack.

Burma accuses France of dispatching a warship

On his second day to the cyclone-hit country, EU aid chief Louis Michel also said he is still waiting for permission to visit Burma's cyclone disaster zone. "I requested to go into the delta but was not allowed to enter yesterday. I am still hoping to go today," Michel said.

Likewise, France has also dispatched a navy helicopter carrier loaded with 1,000 tonnes of emergency supplies - enough to provide 100,000 people with food and clean drinking water for two weeks. According to Beaumont, the carrier should be arriving soon but “had not yet received the go-ahead to enter Burmese waters.”

But in a sign of rising tensions between the Burmese military junta and the international community, Burma’s US envoy accused France of sending a warship to his country.

Responding to the charge, French envoy Jean-Maurice Ripert said that although ship is operated by the French navy, it is not a warship.

Death tolls climb as disease threatens  

While Burma’s state television raised its official death toll on Friday to 77,738, Payen reports that aid workers inside Burma say up to 200,000 people are either dead or missing in the aftermath of May 2 Cyclone Nargis.

Health workers say the clock is ticking for the survivors as cases of the infectious and potentially deadly disease cholera have been reported in some areas of Burma. A water-borne bacterial disease, cholera would be especially dangerous for populations in the flooded areas of Burma’s coast. The United Nations has also reported that 20 percent of children were suffering from diarrhea in the delta area.

Launching an appeal for the survivors of the cyclone, the Red Cross said on Friday that the harvest had already been lost in the cyclone-hit areas of Burma. "We are certainly going to see a further aggravation of the situation, further destitution among an already very hard-hit population," said Red Cross director of programmes and coordination, Thomas Gurtner.

Vidéo

• 

  IN THE FIELD

  'Only 10% of aid pledged by donors is reaching the victims,' A.Beaumont, 17/05, 6am (GMT+2)
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  EU AID CHIEF

  Junta starting to accept the aid mission is strictly humanitarian. 16/05 Louis Michel, European Union aid commissioner.
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  IN THE FIELD

  Quake death toll expected to hit 200,000 F24's Cyril Payen reports from the Thai-Burmese border 16/05 7am (GMT+2)
• 

  FRENCH SHIP READY TO HELP

  On board the French warship Mistral - 14/05

Pour aller plus loin

16/05/2008 : New storm batters grief-stricken Burma
15/05/2008 : UN envoy to step up pressure on junta
14/05/2008 : UN calls for air corridor to Burma
13/05/2008 : US aid trickles into Burma, much more needed
11/05/2008 : UN: 220,000 reported missing in Burma
10/05/2008 : Referendum underway in cyclone-hit Burma

Pour aller plus loin

THE OBSERVERS: Bound and braced for the winds