Death Toll After Myanmar Cyclone Could Reach 10,000

Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville at 12:47 PM on May 5, 2008.

This is just unbelievably sad:

Almost 4,000 people were killed and nearly 3,000 others are unaccounted for after a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, a state radio station said Monday.

Foreign Minister Nyan Win told foreign diplomats at a briefing that the death toll could reach 10,000, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was held behind closed doors.

… "It's clear that we're dealing with a very serious situation. The full extent of the impact and needs will require an extensive on-the-ground assessment," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman in Bangkok, Thailand for United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"What is clear at this point is that there are several hundred thousands of people in dire need of shelter and clean drinking water," Horsey said.

U.N. agencies were working with the Red Cross and other organizations to see how it can help those affected by the cyclone. UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau said the U.N. children's agency alone has five teams assessing the situation in the country.

…The cyclone blew roofs off hospitals and schools and cut electricity in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. Older citizens said they had never seen the city of some 6.5 million so devastated in their lifetimes.

Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless. Candles and bottled water have, of course, doubled in price.

I don't know that any charitable aid has been set up specifically for Myanmar yet, but, in the meantime, if you'd like to help, donating to UNICEF would be a good start. (You can donate specifically to Myanmar here until they get an emergency fund set up.) They've been working inside Myanmar since 1950 and are likely to have the organization already in place to make sure money gets to where it needs to go.

Please drop any other suggestions—or links to charitable aid and/or emergency funds for Myanmar—into comments.

UPDATE: There's more information on the scope of the devastation and which aid agencies are providing immediate help here.