The official death toll from May 3rd cyclone Nagris which hit Myanmar is over 15 thousand people. According to state TV, in the city of Bogalay alone the body count numbers 10 thousand people, while the foreign minister Nyan Win reports 30 thousand missing and countless more homeless. The scale of the disaster, the worst to rock the region since the 2004 tsunami, has forced the military junta to accept offers of international aid, usually viewed with deep suspicion. A move which points to a far more dramatic final death count.
From the Vatican:
DEEPLY SADDENED BY NEWS OF THE TRAGIC AFTERMATH OF THE RECENT CYCLONE, THE HOLY FATHER EXPRESSES HIS HEARTFELT SYMPATHY. WITH PRAYERS FOR THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES, HE INVOKES GOD’S PEACE UPON THE DEAD AND DIVINE STRENGTH AND COMFORT UPON THE HOMELESS AND ALL WHO ARE SUFFERING. CONFIDENT THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WILL RESPOND WITH GENEROUS AND EFFECTIVE RELIEF TO THE NEEDS OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN, HIS HOLINESS ASKS YOU TO CONVEY HIS SOLIDARITY AND CONCERN TO THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND TO ALL THE BELOVED PEOPLE OF MYANMAR
