Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis swept into Burma on Saturday 3 May 2008, killing tens of thousands and causing widespread damage.

This Nasa satellite photo from Friday 4th May shows the eye of Cyclone Nargis just off Burma's Irrawaddy region.

The entire coastal plain is flooded in the May 5 image (bottom). The agricultural areas appear to have been especially hard hit. For example, Yangon (population over 4 million) is almost completely surrounded by floods. Several large cities (population 100,000-500,000) are in the affected area.

View of Rangoon as Cyclone Nargis hit. There is no electricity and many areas have no sanitation or clean water supplies.

The cyclone started on Saturday morning. The wind was strong and blew the trees around. The rain was not heavy yet, it got much worse later

Near the peak of the storm - coconut trees swaying in the strong wind.

A palm tree battered by the wind and driving rain at the peak of the storm.

An aerial view of devastation caused by the Cyclone Nargis.

The storm struck on Saturday 5th May, swamping the streets of the country's main city Yangon.

In Yangon, a Burmese girl makes her way past a bus station destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.

Cyclone Nargis devastated parts of Burma, destroying

thousands of homes

At the height of the storm, wind speeds reached up to 190kph (180mph). Many trees led across roads, disrupting travel and making it difficult for aid workers to deliver vital supplies.

Uprooted trees littered the city's streets in the aftermath of the storm.

Massive trunks lay strewn about but the damage in the

regions was much worse.

Police and troops were able to help the clear-up in Yangon but other disaster zones are hard to reach.

Buddhist monks are also taking part in cleaning up operations.

Power lines were knocked over in Yangon, further complicating attempts to get back to normal.

Many who lost their homes - including young children - have been

desperate to find shelter.

People had to queue to buy clean water.

The UN says hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and have no access to clean water.

In Yangon, police helped to clear streets littered with fallen trees and

debris.

Some locals said that they had never seen Yangon - a city of more than five million people - so devastated.

A dead body is seen floating in flood waters southwest of Yangon.

Five of Burma's regions have been declared disaster zones after cyclone Nargis hit the country on Saturday.

Some aid is beginning to reach victims, but many areas remain inaccessible, officials say.

Military junta's blockade of aid

International relief agencies waited several days for permission to enter Burma so they could take much-needed aid to hundreds of thousands of victims of Cyclone Nargis. The military junta gave a slow response to a request that it waive visa requirements for relief agencies. Burma's junta barred foreign journalists from entering the country and expelled one BBC reporter, state media said.

Foreign aid agencies are pressing Burma's military junta to ease movement restrictions on their staff to help victims.

Children standing amid the debris of their village, which was destroyed by the cyclone, near the township of Kunyangon

A family lies dead in Bogolay, in one of the regions worst hit by the cyclone. While the Burmese government still claims that 22,000 have died, it is feared the true figure is closer to 100,000.

The irrawaddy delta a scene of devastation

Monday May 12, 2008

The UN says up to 102,000 people could have been killed by Cyclone Nargis and about 220,000 are reported missing. Supplies trickling into cyclone-hit Burma on the 10th day of the Cyclone Nargis disaster are far below what is needed, UN and other aid agencies say. The UN says it believes 102,000 are dead from the storm and slow aid efforts

Aid agencies have warned that deliveries need to speed up