May 15, 2008
Bangkok - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej revealed the death toll from Cyclone Nargis was about 35,000, according to the Myanmar’s official figures.
Samak yesterday flew to Rangoon to urge the Burmese government to welcome foreign aid more.
He met and discussed with Myanmar’s Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein before visiting the cyclone victims in the former capital city.
The United Nations (UN) changed its estimate of the number of affected people from 1.5 to 1.6-2.5 million.
Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2. So far, only 270,000 people can access help.
The death toll can be up to 128,000 people, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) figures collected from 22 humanitarian assistance organizations in Myanmar.
The FAO also warned that Myanmar would face a food shortage if its farmers could not do the farming within 90 days.
The UN urged international communities to focus on the post-disaster projects as it might be too late to give any emergency help to the disaster-struck Myanmar.
