According to World Vision’s regional HIV/AIDS advisor, Dr Kyi Minn "The situation is worse than the tsunami. From the TV pictures shot from the helicopters you can see piles of dead bodies."

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta region on 2 May has risen to over 22,000 people with a further 41,000 still reported as missing. Up to two million people have been affected by the disaster and hundreds of thousands are homeless.

According to news reports more deaths were caused by a tidal wave than the storm itself. The wave was up to 3.5 metres high and swept away houses in low-lying villages. As many as 10,000 people died in one coastal town alone.

World Vision has over 580 staff on the ground in Myanmar and has begun distributing emergency relief items including food, water and non-food items. World Vision is planning to distribute aid to 250,000 people in the initial phase of response. Assessment teams have also been deployed to the hardest-hit areas to determine critical needs.

Supplies housed in World Vision’s Dubai warehouse facility are ready to be dispatched via an airlift to Myanmar. Stock ready to go includes 25,000 blankets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, water containers, and tents in addition to 20 water purification units and tents to set up child friendly spaces.

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