Myanmar’s official media said Tuesday that 10,000 people were killed by a powerful cyclone in just one town, confirming fears of a spiraling death toll from the storm’s 12-foot tidal surges and high winds that swept away bamboo homes in low-lying costal regions.
The new toll marked a sharp escalation from the previous official tally of 351. The cyclone’s destruction has caused the isolated Southeast Asian nation to reluctantly accept international aid and foreign humanitarian workers to help provide food, water and shelter, despite a deep suspicion of outsiders by its military government.
The White House announced that the U.S. embassy in Myanmar had made $250,000 in emergency funds available immediately for relief efforts, but officials weren’t certain that the government would accept the offer.
The updated death toll would make Tropical Cyclone Nargis the worst natural disaster in Southeast Asia since the 2004 tsunami that left 181,000 dead in its wake.
The storm struck Myanmar on Saturday with winds as strong as 120 mph. Images on Myanmar TV showed entire villages underwater or swept away.
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Ill-prepared
Myanmar is not known to have an adequate disaster warning system and many rural buildings are constructed of thatch, bamboo and other materials easily destroyed by fierce storms.
