Aid arriving in cyclone-hit Burma

Foreign aid is beginning to arrive in Burma, devastated by a cyclone that left more than 22,000 people dead.

Neighbours China, India and Thailand have been flying in supplies and some foreign workers are on the ground.

But there have been complaints that Burma’s ruling generals are hampering the foreign aid operation.

The UN has urged the authorities to let foreign aid workers into Burma. A UN assessment team is due to fly in on Thursday followed by a funds appeal.

A vast swathe of the southern Irrawaddy delta, which bore the full force of the cyclone, remains under water.

Reports from the area speak of traumatised survivors emerging from floodwaters littered with bodies.

Survivors are hungry, thirsty and vulnerable to disease - but given the vast area affected, and blocked roads, the challenge for aid workers is enormous, say reports.

Advertisement

Footage of the aid operation in Burma from state-run TV

‘Right direction’

Speaking to reporters, the UN’s humanitarian chief John Holmes said the crisis was a “major catastrophe” and said aid had started to arrive.

He conceded aid agencies had faced difficulties accessing the disaster zone, and said rapid issuing of visas and customs clearance would be helpful.

Forget politics. Forget the military dictatorship. Let’s just get aid and assistance through Australian PM Kevin Rudd Keeping a lid on chaos

But, he said, co-operation from the Burmese authorities was “reasonable and heading in the right direction”.

The BBC’s Paul Danahar, in Burma, says this is the biggest challenge to the generals since the height of the pro-democracy movement in 1989.

Under pressure to open the doors to foreign aid operations, they approved the UN aid flight - carrying 25 tonnes of aid - which is being prepared now in Italy and is due to leave within days.

Chinese media say a plane carrying 60 tonnes of aid has landed in the biggest city, Rangoon, and planes from other countries in the region are on their way.

Reports say the UN’s World Food Programme has begun to distribute existing food aid stocks in and around Rangoon, and the Red Cross has a handful of expatriate and many local staff on the ground.

But Burmas has refused to waive visa requirements for many waiting aid workers.

They have also so far failed to respond to a US offer to divert three naval ships exercising in the Gulf of Thailand to the aid operation, the US says.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) - the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - has urged the junta to accept international aid in a statement.

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged the junta to “forget politics”.

Meanwhile, France has suggested invoking a UN “responsibility to protect” clause, which it says could pave the way for aid to be flown in without the approval of the military - something Mr Holmes said would “not help at the moment” and could be seen as confrontational.

Before and after: extent of flooding clear in Nasa satellite images Enlarge Image

The UK’s envoy to Burma, Mark Canning, said progress was being made.

“The authorities have been… very open in calling for supplies of various kinds,” he said, adding that teams of people had been allowed entry.

“More is needed in terms of access, but a lot of people are working on that now.”

The Burmese junta has also attracted criticism for its decision to plough ahead with a referendum on a proposed constitution on Saturday, with the possible exception of the worst-hit regions.

Homeless

Burmese state media reported on Tuesday that 22,464 people had now been confirmed dead and another 41,054 people were missing as a result of Cyclone Nargis, which saw swathes of Burma hit by high winds and a tidal surge.

Up to a million people are thought to have been left homeless in the crisis, which has left thousands of square kilometres of the Irrawaddy delta under water.

EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION UN map showing worst-hit areas, based on satellite imagery [1.13MB] Most computers will open PDFs automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here See how satellites tracked cyclone Send us your comments

Haggard refugees are said to be gathering in wrecked towns in the area, including Labutta.

In Bogalay, the bodies of people killed by the storm “drifted into the sea with the tide, and are now resurfacing on the shore,” a survivor who has been travelling in the region told the BBC’s Burmese service.

“The storm was followed by tidal waves and ships are marooned. You can see the boats near the main market. Ninety percent of Bogalay town is destroyed.”

Rotting bodies were also floating in Hlaing river, in a slightly less affected area east of Rangoon, the survivor said.

Survivors face poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean water.

Flooding could lead to outbreaks of mosquito-borne malaria and dengue fever, while water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery are also a threat.