BANGKOK, THAILAND - Small quantities of drinking water, food, tents and other vital supplies reached Myanmar's devastated Irrawaddy Delta region Wednesday, as bodies floated uncollected in swollen rivers and sea-flooded rice paddies five days after a cyclone roared through.

Survivors, speaking in video interviews, gave harrowing accounts of clinging to palm tree trunks to escape swirling floodwaters, then escaping to high ground in rickety boats, the Associated Press reported. A U.S. diplomat said that the death toll, now tentatively at least 22,000, could reach 100,000.

As evidence mounted of long-term damage to one of the world's premier rice-producing zones, international aid agencies expressed new frustration that a huge operation to help the estimated 1 million survivors is being held up by military rulers' reluctance to let foreign relief experts into the country.

Four Asian citizens who are part of a U.N. emergency team were cleared by the government to enter Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Thursday. But a fifth member, a Westerner, was denied permission, and about 40 others remained uncleared, the United Nations said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the government to speed the arrival of workers and supplies "in every way possible."

"The government authorities have never had to deal with a disaster on this scale before, and it is imperative that the lessons from other major disasters can be applied rapidly, rather than having to be re-learnt," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

As impatience mounted, Bernard Kouchner, France's foreign minister, proposed invoking a newly established U.N. doctrine known as "responsibility to protect" in order to deliver aid directly to people without waiting for official approval.

France pressed the idea at a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday. But China, Russia, South Africa and Vietnam blocked the initiative on grounds that the council -- which deals with threats to international peace and security -- had no business meddling in a domestic crisis.

Some U.N. officials voiced irritation with the proposal. "I'm not sure that invading Myanmar would be a very sensible option at this particular moment," said John Holmes, the U.N.'s chief emergency coordinator. "I'm not sure it would be helpful to the people we're actually trying to help." Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Red tape or astrology?

Shortly after the disaster, the Myanmar military authorities said they would welcome international help. No one knows whether the continuing delays are caused by the generals having trouble overcoming their traditional xenophobia, particularly towards Westerners, or by simple bureaucracy.

The ruling generals are also known to consult astrologers before making a decision.

The Myanmar government has said the cyclone killed at least 22,000 people, with another 40,000 missing.

Shari Villarosa, head of the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, told reporters Wednesday she was hearing indications that the death toll may rise to 100,000, the Associated Press reported.

Despite the continuing uncertainty, the Rome-based World Food Program has sent four aircraft containing 45 metric tons of high-energy biscuits and other supplies from storage facilities in Bangladesh, Italy, United Arab Emirates.

Staff members of WFP, which has long operated non-emergency programs in Myanmar, worked with private relief personnel to distribute some 90 tons of rice to destitute civilians on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

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