Severe Cyclone Hits Burma

ANCHOR: Burma's military authorities and foreign aid workers are struggling to assess the damage from a devastating cyclone. The storm killed more than 350 people and left tens of thousands homeless over the weekend. Here's more. STORY: With winds of 190 km an hour, Cyclone Nargis has ravaged Burma's Irrawaddy delta regions. According to state media, twenty thousand homes were destroyed in Haingyi island alone and ninety thousand people were left homeless. [Terje Skavdal, U.N. Humanitarian Affairs]: "It will take time to get a full picture of the damages and needs." In the capital city of Rangoon, many roofs were ripped off of even sturdy buildings. Damage could be more severe in the outskirts' shanty towns. [Terje Skavdal, U.N. Humanitarian Affairs]: "As always it's the poorer quarters that normally will be the hardest hit, because the construction is not as solid as we would find maybe in other buildings." The death toll of 351 people is likely to rise as authorities make contact with islands and villages in Burma's delta regions. In rice producing Laputta and Kyaik Lat, only one in four buildings are left standing. According to witness accounts, a group of a hundred monks led efforts to clear streets littered with fallen trees and debris from battered buildings. State television is still off the air in Rangoon and clean water is becoming scarce.

Channel: News & Politics
Uploaded: May 5, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Author: NTDTV

Length: 01:36
Rating: 3.86
Views: 12249

Tags: burma  cyclone  disaster  haingyi  island  nature  ntd  storm  

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