'Cyclone Nargis to have bigger impact than Tsunami

Melbourne, May 17: World Vision chief executive Tim Costello, who returned after a 10-day visit to Myanmar, has said that Cyclone Nargis is going to have a bigger impact on the country than the (Boxing Day) tsunami did on Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand.

Costello said that the Burmese military government was still hampering aid efforts while its people endured an "unprecedented level" of human suffering.

Cyclone Nargis, which hit two weeks ago, has left nearly 78,000 people dead and another 56,000 are still missing.

Costello said the monsoon rains had begun to fall bringing the threat of further deaths from disease.

"We saw skin infections and (an) increase in malaria. We fear the outbreak of cholera because that is absolutely lethal ... it's now a race against the weather and, literally, the obstacles that have been in our way to save lives," he added.

Costello said he did not know how many people had been killed.

British officials have estimated the number of dead and missing could be as high as 200,000.

Costello was restricted to the Burma's capital Rangoon during his visit.

News.com.au quoted Costello as saying that there are tens of thousands of people who have yet to receive even the most basic aid.

"It (the cyclone) is going to knock the rice belt of Burma around for years," Costello said.

He added that the World Vision had never operated in such a "narrow human space" like this before.

He said the military government simply did not have the capacity to do the job, but insisted it could.


Copyright Asian News International