Cyclone in Burma. 1 million people homeless.

[Yog]

Major catastrophe in Burma right now. More than 22,000 people confirmed dead, with another 40K people missing. :(

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/06/myanmar.cyclone/index.html

[Morgan Evanar]

That's horrid turn of events :(

[Miranda Tarkin]

Yeah I read about this when it happened and feared the numbers were only going to get higher. :(

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Good grief this is horrific :(

[CMJ]

Makes me feel guilty for my love of tropical cyclones. :(

[Park Kraken]

This is indeed a horrible tragedy, but it is nothing new for the region in general. Even if the confirmed death toll includes all 40k of the missing people, there will still be several storms that rank above it in death tolls for the region.

[Yog]

This is indeed a horrible tragedy, but it is nothing new for the region in general. Even if the confirmed death toll includes all 40k of the missing people, there will still be several storms that rank above it in death tolls for the region.

Well according to an US envoy, death toll may top 100,000. Not sure where he gets that information from, or if it's exaggerated, but that's scary. The scale of this is almost impossible to imagine. 2,000 square miles is under water, and no one really knows what is going on:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/07/myanmar.aidcyclone/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

I think Bangladesh has some of the hardest hits historically, with a cyclone in 1970 that killed 500K people and one in 91 that killed 143,000. Then of course the tsunami. This is ranking really high though, and what makes the situation very difficult is with the junta, and horrible humanitarian and human rights conditions on top of this cyclone. Burma is probably one of, if not the worst place to be on earth any time of the year, even more so right now.

[CMJ]

The latest reports say at least 60 thousand confirmed dead. It's all about warning your civilians....the government didn't. As much as people in the USA moan about mass evacuations during hurricanes....this is the reason we have them.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The latest reports say at least 60 thousand confirmed dead. It's all about warning your civilians....the government didn't. As much as people in the USA moan about mass evacuations during hurricanes....this is the reason we have them.

Well the truth is the government is probably glad to be rid of them. That government is one of the worse in the world, they have their people under strict rule and over half of the population is basically slave labor.

[Turbogeek]

The latest reports say at least 60 thousand confirmed dead. It's all about warning your civilians....the government didn't. As much as people in the USA moan about mass evacuations during hurricanes....this is the reason we have them.

Well the truth is the government is probably glad to be rid of them. That government is one of the worse in the world, they have their people under strict rule and over half of the population is basically slave labor.

That's an amazingly cynical suggestion and one most would say I would make.

Pity it's also 100% true, the Burmese junta are complete evil bastards and have killed thousands over the last 20 years. They just don't care about their own people and witness their total inaction to help.

The latest reports suggest now 100,000 dead with conditions for the survivors worsening. The Junta are even charging survivors to get electricity and water going again! This is dispicable evil.

[Crusader]

Cough cough. The destruction of infrastructor and the army occupied with restoring order would be the perfect time for a revolution in Burma. Hunger and despair might be the perfect fuel for bringing down this goverment. Some western help and John Rambo might help as well.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Cough cough. The destruction of infrastructor and the army occupied with restoring order would be the perfect time for a revolution in Burma. Hunger and despair might be the perfect fuel for bringing down this goverment. Some western help and John Rambo might help as well.
Well that would be nice, maybe the people will do something because of this disaster.

[Cat X]

Cough cough. The destruction of infrastructor and the army occupied with restoring order would be the perfect time for a revolution in Burma. Hunger and despair might be the perfect fuel for bringing down this goverment. .
Well that would be nice, maybe the people will do something because of this disaster.

IF people have been following the burmese situation for a while they would know that there has been huge protests, riots and rebellions for the last 17 years, all ruthlessly cracked down on as the military has no hesitation on shooting anyone onsight. They are very well supported by China too so they wont run out of ammo in a hurry.

And that's in reality the General's only worry. They will stop at nothing and that nothing is the ammo box. The Burmese will rebel again but it would have to be so overwhelming that the junta cant shoot fast enough to come out any different.

Read up how many have died just in the last year resisting the regime. Thousands. A few more thousand bodies means exactly nothing to them. And they will kill anyone that rebels. This may be the trigger for the overwhelming rebellion, but if it does the bloodshed will be incredible.

[Yog]

What I find rather infuriating right now, UN workers are not allowed VISA's or to transport the supplies to those in need.

But this is just astonishing:

YANGON, Myanmar, May 10 (UPI) -- Even as the country lay devastated from a cyclone, Myanmar's military government went ahead Saturday with a referendum on a new national constitution.

Ignoring calls from the United Nations and followers of detained political leader Aung San Suu Kyi to delay the referendum while the country was still reeling from Cyclone Nargis, government backers urged citizens on Saturday to vote "yes" on the measure, which critics say would further strengthen the junta's grip on power.

As the vote was being held, the Myanmar government refused to allow foreign aid workers to enter the country to help distribute food and relief supplies to the thousands of cyclone victims. Those moves have been heavily criticized by the United Nations, which is attempting to organize a large-scale relief effort.

Some estimates put the number of dead and missing at more than 60,000 on Saturday.

CNN reported Mynamar's state television aired messages urging people to approve the referendum and showed pictures of people voting as a song played with the lyrics, "Let's go to cast vote with sincere thoughts for happy days."

If my house was washed away, I am sure the first thing on my mind would be to smile, dance and sing, and to vote for a bill to give the government not doing anything about it more power... :rolleyes

[Jack Brocius]

If my house was washed away, I am sure the first thing on my mind would be to smile, dance and sing, and to vote for a bill to give the government not doing anything about it more power... :rolleyes

The muzzle of a norinco rifle is pretty persuasive.