Cyclone death toll could reach 128,000
Disaster | Junta maintains it has the effort under control
YANGON, Myanmar - The Red Cross estimated Wednesday that the cyclone death toll in Myanmar could be as high as 128,000, a much higher figure than the government tally.
The UN warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly.
The grim forecast came as heavy rains drenched the devastated Irrawaddy River delta, disrupting aid operations already struggling to reach up to 2.5 million people in urgent need of food, water and shelter.
"Another couple of days exposed to those conditions can only lead to worsening health conditions and compound the stress people are living in," said Shantha Bloemen, a spokeswoman for UNICEF.
A tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal added new worries, but late in the day forecasters said it was weakening and unlikely to grow into a cyclone.
Myanmar's government issued a revised casualty toll Wednesday night, saying 38,491 were known dead and 27,838 were missing.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, however, said its estimate put the number of dead between 68,833 and 127,990.
The Geneva-based body said the range came from a compilation based on other estimates from 22 different organizations, including the Myanmar Red Cross Society, and on media reports.
Even though the figures seemed precise, spokesman Matthew Cochrane said they were not based on body counts, but were only rough estimates designed to provide Red Cross donors and partner organizations with an idea of the numbers being discussed within the aid community.
UN officials have said there could be more than 100,000 dead.
The Red Cross estimated the number of people needing help after the cyclone surged over the low-lying delta on May 3 at between 1.64 million and 2.51 million.
But the junta still refused to accept help from foreign aid experts, who have vast experience in handling humanitarian crises.
It insisted Myanmar can handle the disaster on its own, a stance that appeared to stem not from the isolationist regime's ability but from its deep suspicion of most foreigners, who have frequently criticized its human rights abuses and crackdowns on democracy activists.
"The government has a responsibility to assist their people in the event of a natural disaster," said Amanda Pitt of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
"We are here to do what we can and facilitate their efforts and scale up their response. It is clearly inadequate, and we do not want to see a second wave of deaths as a result of that not being scaled up," she said.
Myanmar's prime minister, Lt.-Gen. Thein Sein, told visiting Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Wednesday that the government was in control of the situation and didn't need foreign experts.
"They have their own team to cope with the situation," Samak said after returning to Bangkok.
He said the junta gave him a "guarantee" that there was no starvation or disease outbreaks among survivors.
But critics say the government is woefully lacking in helicopters, trucks and boats as well as planning expertise needed to distribute aid to survivors, who have jammed into monasteries and relief centres or are camping outside.
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