YANGON, Myanmar:The death toll in a powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar three days ago rose to 22,500 Tuesday and foreign governments and aid organizations began mobilizing for a major relief operation. The death toll is the latest in a steadily escalating official count since the Cyclone Nargis struck early Saturday, devastating much of the fertile Irrawaddy River delta and the nation's major city, Yangon.
At a news conference in Yangon, the minister for relief and resettlement, Maung Maung Swe, said 41,000 people were still missing in the cyclone, which triggered a surge of water inland from the sea.
"More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," he said, in the first official description of the destruction. "The wave was up to 12 fee (3.5 meters) high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages. They did not have anywhere to flee."
A spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program said that as many as one million people might have lost their homes and that some villages were almost totally destroyed.
State radio said the referendum would be delayed for two weeks in badly hit areas that include the Irrawaddy delta and much of Yangon.
These areas are centers of repressed opposition to the junta, and now potential centers of anger over what is described by both residents and foreign diplomats as an ineffectual government response to the cyclone.
Residents have described a mood of anger and a grim resignation at the junta's power since the military shot into crowds last September to quell a huge non-violent pro-democracy uprising led by Buddhist monks.
At least 31 people, and possibly many more, were killed during that uprising, and thousands were detained, including large numbers of monks.
International aid groups were assessing the country's needs and preparing shipments of food and materials that included roofing materials, plastic tarpaulins, mosquito nets, water purifying tablets and medication to prevent outbreaks of cholera and malaria.
"We hope to fly in more assistance within the next 48 hours," said the World Food Program spokesman, Paul Risley, speaking in Bangkok. "The challenge will be getting to the affected areas with road blockages everywhere."
A military transport plane was scheduled to arrive Tuesday with emergency aid from Thailand.
A number of other nations and organizations, including the United Nations, the European Commission and Myanmar's powerful neighbor China, said they were prepared to deliver aid.
America's Political Message
The United States, which has led a drive for economic sanctions against Myanmar's repressive regime, said it would also provide aid, but only if an American disaster team was invited into the country.
The policy was presented by Laura Bush, along with a lecture to the junta about human rights and disaster relief.
"This is a cheap shot," said Aung Nain Oo, a Burmese political analyst who is based in Thailand. "The people are dying. This is no time for a political message to be aired. This is a time for relief. No one is asking for anything like this except the United States."
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