Aid Arrives In Myanmar As Death Toll Rises
Aid began to trickle into cyclone-ravaged Myanmar late Tuesday but the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta, where nearly 22,000 people perished, was largely cut off from the rest of the world four days after winds, floods and high tidal waves tore through the densely populated region.
With more than 40,000 still missing and as many as 1 million possibly left homeless, the international community was struggling to deliver aid in the military-ruled country, which normally seeks to shut out foreign officials and restricts their access inside the country.
Concerns mounted over the lack of food, water and shelter in the delta as well as diseases spawned by Cyclone Nargis in a country with one of the world's poorest health systems.
"Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself," said Caryl Stern, who heads the U.N. Children's Fund in the United States.
The U.N.'s World Food Program said late Tuesday it has begun distributing aid in damaged areas of Yangon, the largest city, where 800 tons of food had arrived, although the coastal regions were mostly out of reach due to flooding and road damage.
Even in Yangon, electricity remained cut for almost all 6.5 million residents, while water supply was restored in only a few areas. Some residents had to wait for nine hours to fill up their gas tanks.
Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns wielding knives and axes joined residents in clearing roads of ancient, fallen trees that were once the city's pride. And soldiers were out on the streets in large numbers for the first time since the cyclone hit, helping to clear trees as massive as 15-feet in diameter.
U.S. President George W. Bush called on the country's junta to allow the United States to provide disaster assistance, saying Washington was prepared to move naval assets to help search for the dead and missing.
The U.S. Navy has three ships as well as troops in the Gulf of Thailand, within an easy sail of Myanmar, as part of joint military exercises code-named Cobra Gold scheduled for May 8-21. Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore will also take part in the annual war games.
The Myanmar military, which regularly accuses the United States of trying to subvert the regime, is unlikely to allow U.S. military presence in its territory.
But reflecting the seriousness of the crisis, the government has appealed for foreign aid and also announced Tuesday that it is delaying Saturday's crucial constitutional referendum in the hardest hit areas.
The generals who run Myanmar also run state TV, which is showing them out helping ordinary people - visiting local hospitals and handing out aid, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen. These are the same generals who ordered the killing of pro-democracy monks during protests last September.
From the moment the storm hit, some saw it as divine intervention against the generals - Buddhists here believe natural disasters are punishment for bad leaders, Petersen reports.
State radio said Saturday's vote on the military-backed draft constitution would be delayed until May 24 in 40 of 45 townships in the Yangon area and seven in the delta. It indicated that the balloting would proceed in other areas as scheduled.
Pro-democracy advocates, including the political party of detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have denounced the constitution as a tool to perpetuate the grip on power of a military that has become increasingly unpopular.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. With more than 40,000 still missing and as many as 1 million possibly left homeless, the international community was struggling to deliver aid in the military-ruled country, which normally seeks to shut out foreign officials and restricts their access inside the country.
Concerns mounted over the lack of food, water and shelter in the delta as well as diseases spawned by Cyclone Nargis in a country with one of the world's poorest health systems.
"Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself," said Caryl Stern, who heads the U.N. Children's Fund in the United States.
The U.N.'s World Food Program said late Tuesday it has begun distributing aid in damaged areas of Yangon, the largest city, where 800 tons of food had arrived, although the coastal regions were mostly out of reach due to flooding and road damage.
Even in Yangon, electricity remained cut for almost all 6.5 million residents, while water supply was restored in only a few areas. Some residents had to wait for nine hours to fill up their gas tanks.
Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns wielding knives and axes joined residents in clearing roads of ancient, fallen trees that were once the city's pride. And soldiers were out on the streets in large numbers for the first time since the cyclone hit, helping to clear trees as massive as 15-feet in diameter.
U.S. President George W. Bush called on the country's junta to allow the United States to provide disaster assistance, saying Washington was prepared to move naval assets to help search for the dead and missing.
The U.S. Navy has three ships as well as troops in the Gulf of Thailand, within an easy sail of Myanmar, as part of joint military exercises code-named Cobra Gold scheduled for May 8-21. Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore will also take part in the annual war games.
The Myanmar military, which regularly accuses the United States of trying to subvert the regime, is unlikely to allow U.S. military presence in its territory.
But reflecting the seriousness of the crisis, the government has appealed for foreign aid and also announced Tuesday that it is delaying Saturday's crucial constitutional referendum in the hardest hit areas.
The generals who run Myanmar also run state TV, which is showing them out helping ordinary people - visiting local hospitals and handing out aid, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen. These are the same generals who ordered the killing of pro-democracy monks during protests last September.
From the moment the storm hit, some saw it as divine intervention against the generals - Buddhists here believe natural disasters are punishment for bad leaders, Petersen reports.
State radio said Saturday's vote on the military-backed draft constitution would be delayed until May 24 in 40 of 45 townships in the Yangon area and seven in the delta. It indicated that the balloting would proceed in other areas as scheduled.
Pro-democracy advocates, including the political party of detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have denounced the constitution as a tool to perpetuate the grip on power of a military that has become increasingly unpopular.
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They raised three children born in Allentown, PA; Waltham, MA and myself in Grand Junction, CO. My sisters and I have been trying to reach any relative to no avail.
It would be a boon if the Bush Administration provided aid directly to the United Nations. People could rest easy knowing that our nation''s money is going to a reputable agency and not to the Burmese military.
In short, I can''t understand why India''s meteorological team''s warning wasn''t heeded by the government.
The Burmese would have had two days to head to higher land and would not be without food and water.
NASA, NOAA and the National Reconnaissance Organization could also have easily given adequate warning and provided the Burmese with information regarding response to the cyclone.
In all, this is very sad. In time, this will pass, but I pause to ponder why, why, why?
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
www.expelledthemovie.com
Posted by libagenda
Marxism! I love it. Boy you really, really have the tiniest of tiny brains. What is it like to have an IQ in the 80s or 90s...I really wonder. I am being completely honest, I just think you are really, really stupid. You should have gotten a better education, it would have changed your life but now it is too late.
If you dont believe me, look at what this country did for the first few months after 9-11-01.
Posted by libagenda" (Rick , singinrick, truthword08, providence_D and 1,000 other alias)
Yeah, we attacked Iraq thats what we did! I dont see THAT bringing people to your lard unless you count "god talks to me"-BUSH
" Nothing like a few natural disasters or terrorist attacks to get people to think with their FEAR instead of their heads.
FEAR is not how one should make choices in life. You learn from fear, you respect it, but you should never be controlled by it.
Fear is the primal driving force behind all religion and the main reason it exists - fear of death, fear of the unknown.
Slowly... very slowly, were growing out of that fear. These are indeed the "end times" - the time when people realize that they no longer need to be ruled by their fears.
Posted by IRLiberal"
Yeah, WORSHIP under threats and fear, "FEAR the lord" is the term- sure makes good soldiers but lousy loyalty when ruled by FEAR!
Thankfully we ARE slowly getting away from all that garbage, churches are closing their doors all over the country as congregations shrink and costs increase for building repairs, heat etc. The oldfarts who supported this pedo protecting system are slowing dying off and being replaced with people who DONT believe in goblins, spooks or a Santa Claus in the sky.
Posted by genesis15
He takes the blame 100%, because according to your right wingers, there was NOTHING before he/she/it created the universe, since there was NOTHING before this then everything was created- INCLUDING "accidents" disease, disasters and all the rest.
The earth moved a couple of years ago and 100,000 die from a tsumani- your god was the one who allegedly MADE the earth AND the ground that is unstable and moves. Your god allegedly made the OCEAN which drowned the 100,000
Guilty, culpable, hypocrit that''s him/her/it
"Just gods way of telling the People in Myanmar that Allah is a false GOD...
Posted by cornbiker"
Oh? so then what about 9/11, the 35,000 people killed on highways a year here, the victims of the smallpox epidemic in years past- guess that was all telling us WE are worshipping the wrong god!
CBS: Anti-Christian agenda Supreme!
Posted by libagenda (Rick, singinrick)
AWWWWW!!! everybody now repeat after me: "AWWWWWW"
"Yeah ever notice how they remove his posts but allow any type of posts that disagree with christianity?"
Posted by libagenda (Rick, singinrick)
Well Ricky, MAYBE you made such an annoying PEST of yourself you should take all that as a HINT, you were after all the one who got so paranoid a month ago you claimed not only that an "atheist" HACKED into your CBS account, changed things, posted as you but curiously didnt change your PASSWORD.
You were ALSO the one around then who was so paranoid about being "impersonated" by someone using your account, that you stated you reported the posts FOURTY TIMES. Seems to me you annoy the staff with your petty garbage they are sending you a message.
SHIP OUT OR SHUT UP!