Cyclone horror leaves 350 dead

A CYCLONE killed more than 350 people over the weekend in military-ruled Burma, ripping through the former capital Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta, where it flattened at least two towns.

The death toll is likely to climb as the authorities manage to contact outlying islands and villages that felt the full force of Cyclone Nargis, a Category three storm packing winds of 120mph when it hit early on Saturday.

It was reported 20,000 homes were destroyed on one island alone. The island, Haingyi, is around 130 miles south-west of Rangoon.

The cyclone comes at a delicate time for the junta, which is scheduled to hold a referendum on a new constitution in five days' time.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

Nargis, which had been gathering force in the Bay of Bengal for several days, devastated Burma's leafy main city, littering the streets with overturned cars, fallen trees and debris from battered buildings. "Utter war zone," one diplomat said in an e-mail. "Trees across all streets. Utility poles down. Hospitals devastated. Clean water scarce."

Official newspapers said only one in four buildings was left standing in Laputta and Kyaik Lat, two towns deep in the rice-producing delta region. There were no details of casualties.

In Rangoon, many roofs were ripped off even sturdy buildings, suggesting that damage would be severe in the shanty towns that lie on its outskirts.

Foreign aid workers, their movements restricted by the ruling military junta, struggled to reach many impoverished areas to assess the impact.

"I have never seen anything like it," one retired government worker said. "It reminded me of when Hurricane Katrina hit the US."

The former capital was without power and water, and food prices had doubled overnight, with many storeholders unsure of when they would be able to replenish stocks. Most shops had sold out of candles.

An electricity board official said it was impossible to know when power would be restored.

United Nations disaster experts said it would be days before the full extent of the damage was known.

The regime declared a disaster in five states and government television carried footage of soldiers clearing fallen trees from roads.

"It was a direct hit on a major city," said Terje Skavdal, regional head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"The government did warn people to stay inside and that might have had an impact, but the material damage is enormous," he added.

THOUSANDS FLEE VOLCANIC ERUPTION

CHILEAN authorities have evacuated the last of thousands of residents from the vicinity of a volcano in southern Chile, as it continued to throw ash up to two miles into the air.

More than 4,000 people have left the Patagonian town of Chaiten and its surroundings since Friday, when it erupted. There is no record of the volcano erupting in the past 2,000 years, according to government experts.

Last night, the National Emergency Office said volcanic activity continued, with fine ash falling. Visibility remained poor and the smell of sulphur hung heavy in the air.