Heavy rains head toward cyclone-devastated Myanmar

1 hour, 24 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - Heavy rains and another potentially powerful storm headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta on Wednesday. The U.N. warned that inadequate relief efforts could lead to a second wave of deaths among the estimated 2 million survivors.
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The International Red Cross said in a new estimate that the death toll already may be between 68,833 and 127,990.

The Red Cross says it arrived at the number by adding figures gathered in affected areas by other aid groups and organizations and extrapolating the total.

The Myanmar junta says Cyclone Nargis left at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing. U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far.

The country's junta told visiting Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, however, that it is in control of the relief operations and doesn't need foreign experts.

Samak visited a government relief center in Yangon and told reporters after returning to Bangkok that the junta has given him the "guarantee" that there are no disease outbreaks and no starvation among the cyclone survivors.

"They have their own team to cope with the situation," Samak said, citing Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein. "From what I have seen I am impressed with their management."

International agencies say bottlenecks, poor logistics, limited infrastructure and the military government's refusal to allow foreign aid workers have left most of the delta's survivors living in miserable conditions without food or clean water. The government's efforts have been criticized as woefully slow.

Rain has been has been pounding the cyclone-hit area all week, and more is expected in the coming days, compounding the already difficult task of moving supplies over ruined roads. It also poses significant health risks to survivors of the May 3 cyclone.

"The weather will exacerbate humanitarian conditions for the homeless, many of whom are living under an open sky," said Elizabeth Griffin, a director of Catholic Relief Services from Baltimore. "Thankfully, no serious outbreaks of bacterial, water or mosquito borne diseases have been reported, but this could change in the next two to three weeks."

The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area.

But other forecasters were unwilling to make such a prediction.

Dr. Thawat Sutharacha of Thailand's Public Health Ministry said Wednesday the junta has given permission to a Thai medical team to go to the cyclone-hit delta.

The government separately announced that it will allow 160 relief workers from neighboring countries — India, China, Bangladesh, and Thailand — to come to Myanmar, but it is not clear if they include the Thai medics or whether they will be allowed to travel to the delta.

"The government has a responsibility to assist their people in the event of a natural disaster," said Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

"We are here to do what we can and facilitate their efforts and scale up their response. It is clearly inadequate and we do not want to see a second wave of death as a result of that not being scaled up," she said.

The news of a possible second cyclone was not broadcast by Myanmar's state-controlled media. But Yangon residents picked up the news on foreign broadcasts and on the Internet.

"I prayed to the Lord Buddha, 'please save us from another cyclone. Not just me but all of Myanmar,'" said Min Min, a rickshaw driver, whose house was destroyed in Cyclone Nargis. Min Min, his wife and three children now live on their wrecked premises under plastic sheets.

Soldiers have barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in the hardest-hit areas, but gave access to an International Red Cross representative who returned to Yangon on Tuesday.

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Hi on this Monday, May 5, 2008. I'm Rebecca Field with your UPI top news update.

The death toll is continuing to rise following that devastating cyclone in Myanmar over the weekend. Local media reports nearly 4,000 are dead and another 3,000 people are still missing after the 10 hour long deadly storm hit. Government officials say the count could reach 10,000. Relief organizations like the Red Cross are preparing to send aid. The government from neighboring Thailand is also reportedly sending over aid supplies...at the request of Myanmar's leaders. The United Nations Secretary-General ban Ki-Moon says the UN will provide assistance as needed.

Animal rights groups are all fired up after the Kentucky Derby race went sour over the weekend. PETA is requesting jockey Gabriel Saez be suspended after his horse Eight Belles broke both her front ankles during the race. The animal had to be euthanized following their second place finish. The group says the horse was injured before the finish, and is asking for an investigation to find out if the jockey was aware of that. If found at fault, PETA wants to second place prize of $400,000 to be taken away.

Early trading numbers show investors are dropping Yahoo shares. The company's shares reportedly dropped more than 22 percent in pre-market trading after Microsoft dropped a several billion dollar deal to take over Yahoo. The two companies reportedly couldn't agree on a price. Yahoo apparently was firm on $37 a share and would not accept Microsoft's offer of $33 a share. The deal would have been one of the biggest deals in the technology sector.

And in sports, former Yankee Roger Clemens is apologizing for his mistakes...but not naming what those mistakes are. Clemens released a public statement saying he has flaws and is sorry for mistakes he's made in his personal life. This is his first time speaking publicly since a report surfaced last week of an alleged 10 year affair with country star Mindy McCready. In his statement, Clemens also said the reports had several false accusations. The former baseball star is married with four children.

That's all for now. Go to upi.com for more of today's news and updates. Thanks for watching.