Bodies lie next to a river at the village town of Labutta which was hit by Cyclone Nargis in Irrawaddy Division May 9, 2008. Myanmar will accept foreign aid but not foreign aid workers, the foreign ministry said on Friday, after a disaster rescue team from Qatar that arrived in Yangon on an aid flight was turned back.
The scene captured by the Ikonos satellite on May 7, 2008, top, illustrates the complete devastation Cyclone Nargis brought to Burma (Myanmar) when it barreled ashore on May 3. This tiny village was located about 27 kilometers (16 miles) south of Yangon, the countryÕs largest city. In the lower image, taken on May 3, 2002, trees and buildings line a single street, which is surrounded by fields of crops, probably rice. After the disaster, the trees and buildings are completely gone, replaced by messy piles of rubble. The fields are largely submerged under brown and green floodwater. The tiny canal that ran alongside the village on the left side of the image has disappeared into a wide, brown river. A faint curving line outlines the canalÕs banks within the new river.
Dead bodies lie next to a river at the village town of Labutta which was hit by Cyclone Nargis in Irrawaddy Division May 9, 2008. Myanmar will accept foreign aid but not foreign aid workers, the foreign ministry said on Friday, after a disaster rescue team from Qatar that arrived in Yangon on an aid flight was turned back.
Cyclone affected people cut up a cow in Kungyangon in the outskirts of Yangon on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The US has already accorded three million USD in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
Passengers gather at a railway station to leave for their repective villages in Yangon on May 8, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after last weekend's cyclone, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when Cyclone Nargis pounded the country on May 2-3.
affected people gather to receive relief goods at a meeting in Yangon on May 8, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after last weekend's cyclone, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when Cyclone Nargis pounded the country on May 2-3.
A shelterless family cooks food under the open sky in the cyclone-hit area of Dedaye township, some 48 kilometers south of Yangon on May 7, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when a cyclone pounded the country.
A mother breastfeeds her child in the cyclone-hit area of Dedaye township, some 48 kilometers south of Yangon on May 7, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when a cyclone pounded the country.
A mother feeds her child while sitting inside her makeshift hut in the cyclone-hit area of Dedaye township, some 48 kilometers south of Yangon on May 7, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when a cyclone pounded the country.
This view shows some of the large scale of devastation in the cyclone-hit area of Dedaye township, some 48 kilometers south of Yangon on May 7, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when a cyclone pounded the country.
Displaced families shift to safer places from the cyclone-hit area of Dedaye township, some 48 kilometers south of Yangon on May 7, 2008. Myanmar's junta has agreed to accept US emergency aid after Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, allowing at least one military plane to deliver supplies to Yangon. The United States has urged Myanmar's military rulers to accept international disaster relief after the top US diplomat in Yangon warned that more than 100,000 people may have died when a cyclone pounded the country.
A destroyed house is seen in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
A boy carries pieces of wood in a street in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
A boy carries a jerican of water in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
FILES) This file photo taken on September 13, 2005 shows a military C-130 plane flying by the Lakefront Airport as it sprays insecticide over parts of New Orleans, Louisiana, following the flood that engulfed the city. A US embassy spokesman said on May 8, 2008 that Myanmar will allow at least one C-130 transport plane to deliver US emergency aid to Yangon in the wake of the Cyclone Nargis disaster that has killed thousands, but Myanmar's junta has shown no signs of accepting a wider international relief effort.
Indonesian soldiers and volunteers load a military aircraft with relief aid for Myanmar cyclone victims at the Halim airport in Jakarta on May 8, 2008. The United Nations, the US and France stepped up pressure on the junta to open their doors to foreign aid, as a top US diplomat said the death toll from Cyclone Nargis could top 100,000.
A woman breast feeds two babies in a relief centre in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
A woman sits among the wreckage of what's leeft of her house in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
A woman and a child stand at what's left of their house in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
A boy (L) carries pieces of wood on top of his head past a destroyed house in Bogalay, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Myanmar on May 8, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insists aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar has nothing to do with politics but critics and some Asian diplomats wonder whether Washington is mixing the two. The United States has already accorded three million dollars in aid and geared up for massive operations in Myanmar where up to 100,000 people were feared killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
