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Burma cyclone death toll 'at 243' | Burma cyclone death toll 'at 243' |
(20 minutes later) | |
A tropical cyclone has killed at least 243 people in Burma and damaged thousands of buildings, according to state television. | A tropical cyclone has killed at least 243 people in Burma and damaged thousands of buildings, according to state television. |
Parts of the Irrawaddy region were hit particularly badly, with three out of four buildings blown down in one district. | |
Burma has declared Irrawaddy and four other regions, including the main city Rangoon, to be disaster areas. | Burma has declared Irrawaddy and four other regions, including the main city Rangoon, to be disaster areas. |
Rangoon has been without power and water, its streets full of debris. | Rangoon has been without power and water, its streets full of debris. |
Winds of about 190km/h (120mph) battered the Irrawaddy, Rangoon, Bago, Karen and Mon regions. | |
Military and police personnel have been carrying out rescue operations | |
Cyclone Nargis has since moved towards Thailand where storm warnings have been issued. However, it appears to be lessening in force. | |
Phone links down | |
In Irrawaddy's Labutta township, 75% of buildings collapsed and 20% had their roofs ripped off, state TV said. | |
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Footage of the damage caused by the cyclone | |
In the Irrawaddy delta region as a whole, the cyclone brought down more than 20,000 houses. | |
In Rangoon, internet and phone connections have been down since the storm drew near, making it difficult to confirm the extent of the damage. | |
Official media report that four people were killed and four vessels sank in the former Burmese capital's harbour. | |
A UN regional official told Reuters news agency it would take several days to assess the scale of the damage. | |
"There does not seem to be a high number of casualties but for sure there is a lot of damage to property and infrastructure," Therje Skavdal said, speaking from Bangkok. | |
'Like Katrina' | |
A UN official, speaking anonymously, told The Associated Press: | |
Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians? They should come out... and help clean up... Rangoon trishaw driver | |
"It's a bad situation. Almost all the houses are smashed. People are in a terrible situation. | |
"All the roads are blocked. There is no water. There is no electricity." | |
Many roofs were reportedly ripped off even sturdy buildings in Rangoon. | |
"I have never seen anything like it," one retired government worker told Reuters. | |
"It reminded me of when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States." | |
A trishaw driver in Rangoon, who did not want to be identified, complained that the security forces were not doing enough to help. | |
"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" he said. | |
"They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity." | |
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