Thursday, May 08, 2008

Burma cyclone update*

Thursday, May 08, 2008 6:04:18 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
From the sky... Before and after: extent of flooding clear in Nasa satellite images
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/south_asia_enl_1210151685/img/laun.jpg
(BBC)

 

On the ground...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00667/040508-myanmar-404a_667878c.jpg 
(Telegraph)

 

Regardless of where you are in the world, surely you have heard about the tragedy currently affecting Burma. Well below is an update taken from the BBC.

Experts say that a massive aid operation is needed to help those affected by Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region on Saturday.

But the Burmese government has spurned some offers of aid, such as one from the US to deploy navy ships, and many foreign aid workers are being held in a queue for visas. The government has approved some UN air shipments, but these are still being delayed.

A Bangkok-based UN official said that World Food Programme planes loaded with 40 tons of high-energy biscuits were stuck in Dhaka and Dubai because they had not yet received permission to land in Burma.  ...
On Wednesday, the top US diplomat in Burma said that the number of deaths could be much higher than reported. Burmese state media said on Thursday that 22,980 people had been confirmed dead and another 42,119 were missing.

But Shari Villarosa, the charge d'Affaires of the US embassy in Burma - also known as Myanmar - said the death toll could reach or exceed 100,000, based on information from a non-governmental organisation that she would not name. (Source)

Please remember this country, and all others in which there is extreme tragedy, in your prayers.

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Thursday, May 08, 2008 12:37:21 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
I was "greeted" with the following image (related to the aforementioned tragedy) this morning as I grabbed today's Metro newspaper. Please note that this image is disturbing.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=146485&in_page_id=34
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