Nightly News

Tens of thousands of people are waiting for aid in Bangladesh, in the wake of a super cyclone which killed nearly 2,000 people.

A US military plane with aid supplies landed in Myanmar as the cyclone-ravaged country reported that nearly 32 thousand people had died. Myanmar eased up just a little, agreeing to allow two more US flights and issue 34 visas to United Nations relief staff. But Myanmar remains sealed for the most part, preventing foreigners from coming in to help distribute aid. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was exasperated. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAN KI-MOON, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL, SAYING: "I want to register my deep concern and immense frustration at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis." The Yangon government still won't let in foreign helicopters or boats, but the US sent three Navy ships anyway for delivering aid supplies to the region. And Britain sent one ship. As of Monday only a fraction of the foreign aid has reached the 1-and-a-half million people facing hunger and disease. Survivors sought shelter in schools and monasteries, but it could get worse for them. UN humanitarian affairs representative Terje Skavdal says the rainy season is about to start. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TERJE SKAVDAL, REPRESENTATIVE OF UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) SAYING: "Rain within the coming week in, it will be equal for the full rain in May last year. So it's going to be very, very difficult situation for the affected population in the days to come. The UN estimates that the death toll could climb past 100 thousand. Fred Katayama, Reuters.

Cyclone Survivors Await Aid

Nov. 25: Even though relief operations in Bangladesh continue around the clock, thousands are being left behind by the aid effort. NBC’s Ian Williams reports.

Tens of thousands of people are waiting for aid in Bangladesh, in the wake of a super cyclone which killed over 2,300 people. Military ships and helicopters are trying to reach thousands of people believed stranded on islands in the Bay of Bengal and in coastal areas still cut off by the devastating storm. Hundreds of people are missing after Cyclone Sidr smashed into the country's southern coastline late on Thursday night. "It will take several days to complete the search and know the actual casualty figure and extent of damage to property," said food and disaster ministry official Ayub Miah. A huge effort is underway to get food, drinking water and shelter to tens of thousands affected by the storm, the deadliest to hit the country in one and a half decades. Tapan Chowdhury, a government adviser for food and disaster management, described the cyclone as a "national calamity" and urged all to come forward to help the victims. "Everybody, including all political parties, should join the relief efforts," he said, adding that "aid pledges from the international community have so far been good". The cyclone has taken a heavy toll on livestock, fisheries, trees and vegetables in the country's south and southwestern coastal areas. Officials said in many areas 95 per cent of rice crops due to be harvested in a few weeks have been badly damaged, exacerbating a food shortage.

More than 10,000 people are feared dead, and "several hundreds of thousands" have been left homeless by a tropical cyclone in southwestern Burma, a United Nations relief official has told CBC News.

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The authorities in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are struggling to assess damage and casualties in the wake of Saturday's Cyclone Nargis, said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN's disaster response office in Bangkok. The cyclone came ashore in the delta of the Irrawaddy River, the country's most heavily populated region.

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The Burmese foreign minister, Nyan Win, confirmed that the authorities are still waiting for reports from outlying areas and are expecting the death toll to surpass 10,000 people.

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The former capital, Rangoon, has also been hard hit, Horsey said.

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He said the normally reclusive Burmese military junta was in talks with international agencies to discuss aid requirements and how to get help to the worst affected areas. The UN has been invited to send aid and expert help, say news agency reports from Rangoon.

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With several hundred thousand people homeless, Horsey said, the most immediate needs will be clean drinking water, food, medicine and materials for repairing houses or sheltering people whose homes have been devastated.

Food shortages a concern

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Freelance journalist Andrew Chant, talking to CBC News from Bangkok, said most of the casualties are in the densely populated rice-growing areas in the Irrawaddy River delta around Rangoon.

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"People there live along rivers and streams," Chant said, "and they'll have experienced a double hit from both the winds and rising waters." There is rising concern that extensive damage to rice paddies could lead to food shortages all over the country, he said.

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Workers from several international aid agencies have been travelling in Rangoon and outside the city to discover how much aid is needed, and where help is needed most.

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James East of the relief organization World Vision said assessment teams from his organization were having trouble getting out of the city because of blocked, flooded and damaged roads.

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"Our people are saying they haven't seen anything like it," East told CBC news.

Size of disaster still unknown: official

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Telecommunications have also been cut with many areas, according to Michael Annear of the International Committee of the Red Cross mission in Bangkok.

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"Widespread destruction is obviously making it more difficult to get aid to people who need it most, " Annear said.

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In Rangoon, people huddled in darkened rooms and stood in line to buy candles and cooking gas as the city's already unreliable electricity supply remained severely disrupted. Winds approaching 160 km/h blew roofs from hospitals, schools and government buildings.

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The city's airport has reopened and a Thai military flight has been sent with shelter materials and food. More flights are expected to arrive Tuesday, sent by the Red Cross and other agencies.

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The Associated Press reported from the city that residents were angry that the military regime had so far extended a helping hand only to wealthy neighbourhoods, leaving others to fend for themselves. Burma's authorities are ensconced in the newly built capital city, Naypyitawm, far from the cyclone-effected area.

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People were staying away from work Monday to find food and shelter for their families, AP reported.

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"Without my daily earning, just survival has become a big problem for us," said Tin Hia, who runs a roadside stand repairing umbrellas for passersby. His makeshift hut in one of the city's many slums had been destroyed, he said.

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"The Irrawaddy [River] delta was hit extremely hard, not only because of the wind and rain but [also] because of the storm surge," said Chris Kaye, the UN's acting humanitarian co-ordinator in Rangoon.

Burmese-Canadian community concerned

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Members of Canada's Burmese community have been in contact with relatives in their homeland, according to Tin Muang Htoo of the activist group Canadian Friends of Burma.

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"It's typical that storms are hitting [at this time of year]," Htoo told CBC news, "but this time, this is the worst.

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"After this crisis, there will be lots of difficulties dealing with food crisis and sanitation, especially with water."

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Htoo called on Canada to offer help to hard-hit people in Burma when parliament confers honourary Canadian citizenship on the imprisoned Burmese democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Monday afternoon in Ottawa.

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The cyclone came just a few days before the military junta in Burma was to hold a referendum on a new constitution that could lead to multi-party elections in 2010. State media are insisting the vote will go ahead, but government ministers have told diplomats that a postponement is possible, news agencies report.

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Pro-democracy groups say the proposed new constitution would merely perpetuate military rule in the country.

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Last year, at least 31 people died in anti-junta protests that were brutally surpressed by the authorities.

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Despite the devastating storm, the Burmese junta said plans would go ahead for a referendum May 10 on a new constitution that would pave the way for multi-party elections in 2010.

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Last September, at least 31 people were killed and thousands more detained when the military regime cracked down brutally on peaceful pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks and students.

With files from the Associated Press

Kiwanis Malaysia and UNICEF signed an Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday to raise funds in aid of cyclone Nargis survivors.

The US says Myanmar's government has granted landing permission for two more flights carring aid for the survivors of Cyclone Nargis. But officials say distribution of vital supplies to those facing hunger and disease in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta remains restricted. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Britain will pressure the UN Security Council for action: "We now estimate that two million people face famine or disease as a result of the lack of co-operation by the Burmese authorities. We are doing everything we can to make aid and assistance available. It is now for the Burmese authorities to respond to what everyone is saying all over the world. The eyes of the world are now upon Burma." The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières is one of the few to get aid through, by using the local network of its long-running HIV project. "The problem is, we are all facing restrictions with international staff, so with a few exceptions the government is insisting we run operations with national staff," said spokesman Joe Belliveau. The World Food Programme estimates only 20 percent of the supplies needed are being distributed. The official death toll has been put at almost 30,000 but aid workers fear 1.5 million could die if more help does not come.

The United Nations said Tuesday that only a tiny portion of international aid needed for Burma's cyclone victims is making it into the country, amid reports that the military regime is hoarding good-quality foreign aid for itself and doling out rotten food.

While many people in Myanmar are struggling to survive after Cyclone Nargis counting is underway in the country's referendum on a new constitution. The ruling generals have appeared on state television, distributing aid and being clapped by crowds of children in what appears to be an orchestrated display of disaster relief. But there is still precious little of that on the ground. Aid workers await visas and food and other supplies are only being allowed to trickle in. An estimated 1.5 million people lack food, shelter, and clean water. In just 24 hours medical experts say the risk of a cholera outbreak will become acute, but the referendum is getting far more attention from the regime. When aid does arrive it is impounded for distribution by the army. There are reports boxes marked with the donor country or organisation are being remarked. It is estimated only about half a million of the survivors have received any sort of aid until now.