The death toll from a devastating cyclone that hit western Burma on Saturday has now climbed to almost 4,000 people, state media say.
State television said that more than 3,900 people were killed in the city of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy region alone.
Thousands more are feared dead and several hundred thousand people are now in need of shelter and drinking water, the UN says.
Five regions have been declared disaster zones in the storm's wake.



BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Burma's storm toll 'nears 4,000'

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Some pictures of the clean-up: BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Burmese clean-up
Original article when it first struck: BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Hundreds killed by Burma cyclone

Also, how hurricanes form: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Animated guide: Hurricanes

Report from the Guardian: Death toll in Burma cyclone disaster reaches 4,000 | World news | guardian.co.uk
Report from the Telegraph: Burma cyclone death toll nears 4,000 - Telegraph

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Figures update 10,000 reported dead with a further 3,000 missing.

More than 10,000 people were killed in a devastating cyclone that hit western Burma on Saturday, Foreign Minister Nyan Win has said on state TV.

He said his government was ready to accept international assistance, and aid shipments were now being prepared.

Thousands of survivors of Cyclone Nargis are lacking shelter, drinking water, power and communications, but in many regions help has not yet arrived.

Five regions in which 24 million people live have been declared disaster zones.

Expressing his sadness at the scale of the disaster, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that UN officials were meeting Burmese government representatives to discuss how to help.

If the toll is confirmed, Nargis is now the world's deadliest storm since a 1999 cyclone in India killed 10,000 people.

Nargis hit the south-east Asian country on Saturday with wind speeds reaching 190km/h (120mph).

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Death toll has increased to 15,000 with 30,000 still missing.

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Videos of the storm

BBC NEWS | World | Burma storm amateur video

BBC NEWS | World | Height of the Burma cyclone

BBC NEWS | World | Burma cyclone aerial footage

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The death toll from Nargis has now reached in excess of 100,000 from Nargis

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The World Food Programme has halted aid shipments to Burma after the contents of its first delivery were impounded on arrival in the military-ruled country.

The UN body says the Burmese government seized tonnes of aid material flown in to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands. The WFP said it had no choice but to halt aid until the matter was resolved. Burma's ruling generals have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the crisis. The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the cyclone, with tens of thousands made homeless and vulnerable to disease.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Burma impounds UN aid deliveries

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This is an interesting video to watch: BBC NEWS | World | Satellite images of cyclone

It shows Satellite images of the Burma storm as it approached then made landfall, from 12noon Local Time on Friday to 12noon Local time on Saturday, presented by BBC Meteorologist, Alex Deakin.

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Aid has now started to arrive in Burma

"Follow the latest from Burma as international aid beings to trickle in as the ruling military continues to struggle with the crisis.
May 12, 2008 10:06 AM

The first US aid flight for Burma took off today, after a week of negotiations with the ruling military junta, as aid workers and survivors give their accounts of the aftermath of cyclone Nargis."


Full story: Cyclone Nargis relief effort in Burma: LIVE | Newsblog | Guardian Unlimited


"Relief deliveries into cyclone-hit Burma increased today but aid groups said supplies fell far short of the enormous need and that foreign experts were still barred from the country.

A cargo plane chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) carrying 35 tonnes of aid was one of the latest to arrive."

Full story: Aid trickles into Burma, but toll 'could reach 1 million if disease set in' - Times Online


"A U.S. military cargo plane loaded with tons of aid for Burma has landed in Rangoon.

The C-130, carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets from an air base in Thailand, is the first U.S. aid flight that Burma's military government has allowed to enter the country since Cyclone Nargis struck May 3.
On Sunday, a boat carrying Red Cross supplies sank after apparently hitting a submerged tree in the Irrawaddy Delta. All four aid workers on board escaped."


Full Story: VOA News - US Aid Flight Arrives in Burma

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Burma death toll jumps to 78,000
The official death toll for Burma's cyclone disaster jumps to nearly 78,000 with 56,000 missing, state TV says.

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