In spite of all our differences, the one thing that binds all living creatures is that we each have an expiration date. This finality to our existence is what makes life special, something to be cherished and protected. But occasionally things can go terribly wrong…
A cyclone has devastated the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), leaving at least 22,000 people dead, 41,000 missing, and up to one million people homeless. The Cyclone Nargis tore through the country’s heartland and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday. Some villages were totally destroyed, and vast rice-growing areas have been wiped out.
Relief efforts in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm. Neighbor Thailand sent the first overseas assistance on Tuesday. The United States is expected to contribute millions of dollars to the relief effort.
Based on a United Nations satellite map, the storm’s damage was concentrated over a 11,600-square-mile area along the Andaman Sea. Although this is less than 5 percent of the country’s area, it is home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar’s 57 million people. Images from state television showed massive trees and electric poles shredded across roads and roofless houses submerged in water. "More or less all the landlines are down and it’s extremely difficult to get information from cyclone-affected areas. But from the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge," said a Myanmar official.
Frustrated residents claim the ruling military junta failed to prepare the country for the impending storm. "The government misled people," said Thin Thin, a grocery story owner in Yangon. "They could have warned us about the severity of the coming cyclone so we could be better prepared."
