Myanmar cyclone death toll climbs to 28,458_English

YANGON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of Myanmar's cyclone disaster rose to 28,458 from 23,335, according to a brief news report of the state TV Sunday evening.

Altogether 33,416 people remained missing, down from 37,019, the report said.

The death toll of Myanmar's cyclone disaster rose to 28,458 from 23,335, according to a brief news report of the state TV Sunday evening.

Caption Cyclone Nargis survivors sit at a refugee center in Myang Mya, in Irrawaddy Division, May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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A deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states -- Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon in the last weekend, of which Ayeyawaddyand Yangon sustained the heaviest casualties and infrastructural damage.

Affected coastal towns in the southwestern Ayeyawaddy division include Haing Gyi Island, Pathein, Myaungmya, Laputta, Mawlamyinegyun, Kyaiklat, Phyarpon and Bogalay.

The death toll of Myanmar's cyclone disaster rose to 28,458 from 23,335, according to a brief news report of the state TV Sunday evening.

A young boy sits by the wreckage of a home near Kyauktan May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Myanmar declared the five divisions and states as natural-disaster-hit regions a day after the cyclone hit the country.

However, Bago, Mon and Kayin as well as some five townships of Yangon division and 19 townships of Ayeyawaddy division were withdrawn from being the natural-disaster-hit areas status on Tuesday with a claim that these areas had basically returned to normal.

A total of 40 townships in Yangon division and 7 townships in Ayeyawaddy division have still remained as the natural-disaster-hit areas status where relief and rehabilitation work are under way.

Children eat at a temporary feeding center run by local villagers near Kundangon, Myanmar May 11, 2008.

Children eat at a temporary feeding center run by local villagers near Kundangon, Myanmar May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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More international relief supplies flow in Myanmar

More aircrafts laden with relief materials from the international community touched down at the Yangon International Airport Sunday for the delivery to the cyclone-devastated regions of Myanmar, state radio and television reported Sunday evening.

A worker prepares to load relief supplies from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) for the cyclone-devastated regions of Myanmar at Ostend Airport May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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YANGON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- More aircrafts laden with relief materials from the international community touched down at the Yangon International Airport Sunday for the delivery to the cyclone-devastated regions of Myanmar, state radio and television reported Sunday evening.

These aid supplies included that from the King of Thailand, International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), Greek, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Petronas of Malaysia and Pakistan. Full story