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LET US IN, BUSH SAYS
The White House said Tuesday the United States would send more than $3 million to help cyclone victims after an initial emergency contribution of $250,000.
President Bush called on the junta to let the United States send in a disaster assessment team, which he said would allow for quicker and larger aid infusions.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more," Bush said. "We're prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation. But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country."
Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Navy has three ships in the Gulf of Thailand -- the USS Essex, the USS Juneau and the USS Harper's Ferry -- preparing to participate in an annual exercise with Thailand's naval forces.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said two aircraft carriers -- the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS Nimitz -- as well as the USS Blue Ridge also are within reach of Myanmar.
The Essex, an amphibious assault ship, has 23 helicopters aboard, including 19 that are capable of lifting cargo from ship to shore, as well as 1,800 Marines.
HOW TO HELP
The following aid agencies are among those accepting contributions to help those affected by the cyclone in Myanmar. The list is from InterAction, a coalition of aid agencies, which can be contacted at (202) 667-8227 or www.interaction.org.
American Red Cross
(800) 435-7669
AmeriCares
(800) 486-4357
Baptist World Aid
(703) 790-8980
Church World Service
(800) 297-1516
churchworldservice.org
Habitat for Humanity International
(800) 422-4828
Latter-day Saint Charities
(800) 453-3860, ext. 23544
Relief International
(310) 478-1200
Save the Children USA
(800) 728-3843
United Methodist Committee on Relief (800) 554-8583
U.S. Fund for UNICEF
(800) 486-4233
THE IRRAWADDY DELTA
Overview of the Irrawaddy delta, the region of Myanmar hit hardest by Cyclone Nargis:
THE DEATH TOLL: Of the 22,000 dead so far, as many as 21,793 were from the Irrawaddy delta. In addition, 40,695 of the 41,000 missing also came from the region.
THE GEOGRAPHY: On the tip of the country's western coast, the Irrawaddy delta is a low-lying region where as many as 6 million people live. An additional 6.5 million people live in Yangon, the country's former capital, on the edge of the delta. The Irrawaddy River branches out into numerous tributaries to form the delta, which is also crisscrossed by canals and wetlands.
THE ECONOMY: The fertile region of the Irrawaddy delta is considered the country's rice bowl, where mangrove forests long ago were converted into paddies. Once the world's top rice producer, the country produced only about 40,000 tons for export last year, nowhere near earlier highs.
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But reflecting the seriousness of the crisis, the government has appealed for foreign aid and also said Tuesday it is delaying a crucial constitutional referendum in the hardest-hit areas.Vote delayedState radio said Saturday's vote on a military-backed draft constitution would be delayed until May 24 in 40 of 45 Yangon-area townships and seven in the wider delta.Pro-democracy advocates, including the political party of detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have denounced the constitution as a tool to perpetuate the military's grip on power.Inadequate warnings about the approaching storm and the ineffectiveness of the government in its aftermath could sway angry voters to reject the charter.State radio said most of the 22,464 dead, as well as the 41,000 missing, were in the densely populated Irriwaddy delta, home to 6 million people. It said 671 were killed in the Yangon area. Brig. Gen. Kyaw San, the information minister, said most fatalities were caused by tidal surges.Little warningThe death toll is the highest from a natural disaster in southeast Asia since the tsunami of December 2004 killed 229,866 people in Indonesia, Thailand and other parts of southeast and south Asia.With 61 dead, Myanmar was largely spared the devastating impact of the tsunami, which killed 130,000 people in Indonesia and 35,000 in Sri Lanka. In its wake, an extensive warning system was established in much of the Pacific region, but Myanmar did not participate. Disaster experts a cited lack of funding and said the country planned to rely on regional systems.As the cyclone came bearing down late Friday, television broadcasts warned of 120-mph winds and 12-foot storm surges. But electricity is so spotty in Myanmar that few households, especially in the poor rural areas that were worst hit, were aware of the warnings.The U.N. World Food Program offered a grim assessment of the destruction: as many as 1 million people homeless, some villages almost destroyed and vast rice-growing areas wiped out.
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