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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Burma appeal set to be launched | Burma appeal set to be launched |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| UK aid agencies are expected to launch a joint appeal later to raise funds for the victims of Burma's cyclone. | UK aid agencies are expected to launch a joint appeal later to raise funds for the victims of Burma's cyclone. |
| The death toll from the storm is now believed to be more than 22,000, with another 41,000 missing. Thousands more have no clean water or shelter. | The death toll from the storm is now believed to be more than 22,000, with another 41,000 missing. Thousands more have no clean water or shelter. |
| The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is considering an appeal similar to that launched after the 2004 tsunami. | The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is considering an appeal similar to that launched after the 2004 tsunami. |
| The UK government has already pledged £5m in aid for survivors of the cyclone, which hit Burma on Saturday. | The UK government has already pledged £5m in aid for survivors of the cyclone, which hit Burma on Saturday. |
| The storm, which brought winds of up to 120mph and caused a huge tidal surge, is already being seen as the worst natural disaster in East Asia since the Boxing Day tsunami more than three years ago. | The storm, which brought winds of up to 120mph and caused a huge tidal surge, is already being seen as the worst natural disaster in East Asia since the Boxing Day tsunami more than three years ago. |
| "He was just about to get a bus - a 14 hour bus ride down to Rangoon - and so we're assuming he was in Rangoon on Friday... we haven't heard from him since Rachel Bourden, sister of missing British man | |
| Prices soar | Prices soar |
| Several British organisations have already made their own pleas for donations to help ease food shortages and to provide other emergency supplies. | Several British organisations have already made their own pleas for donations to help ease food shortages and to provide other emergency supplies. |
| Save the Children has called for £5m from supporters, while World Vision said it needed to raise £1.5m. | Save the Children has called for £5m from supporters, while World Vision said it needed to raise £1.5m. |
| Oxfam has released £250,000 from its funds and put a team on standby to travel to the country. | Oxfam has released £250,000 from its funds and put a team on standby to travel to the country. |
| The British Red Cross has also released £30,000 and said it had 17,000 volunteers from Burma on the ground handing out cooking and hygiene kits, drinking water and mosquito nets through its affiliate, the Myanmar Red Cross. | The British Red Cross has also released £30,000 and said it had 17,000 volunteers from Burma on the ground handing out cooking and hygiene kits, drinking water and mosquito nets through its affiliate, the Myanmar Red Cross. |
| The International Medical Corps, which works with organisations in neighbouring Indonesia, is preparing to deploy an emergency response team. | |
| It is also gathering medical supplies, blankets, water purification tablets and hygiene kits to send into Burma. | |
| DEC is an umbrella organisation of 13 humanitarian aid charities, including Save the Children, Oxfam and the British Red Cross. | |
| It launches and co-ordinates responses to major disasters overseas, and is expected to make an announcement on an appeal for Burma. | |
| Britons registered | |
| One of the people missing is British man Tom Bourden from Eastbourne. His sister Rachel said they had not heard from him since before the cyclone struck. | |
| "He was just about to get a bus - a 14 hour bus ride down to Rangoon - and so we're assuming he was in Rangoon on Friday morning- afternoon-ish. | |
| "And we haven't heard from him since really. Him and his girlfriend are kind of in daily contact, or were up until then, so not to hear from him is a worry," she said. | |
| It is not known exactly how many British people are currently in Burma. The FCO said that about 200 Britons were registered with the British embassy. | |
| Those are likely to be people staying in the country for long periods, such as expatriates, rather than tourists, most of whom would not be registered. | |
| As Burma is currently in the rainy season, the FCO said it did not expect large numbers of British tourists to be in the country. | |
| Access problems | Access problems |
| Almost all of the deaths from the cyclone occurred in the country's Irrawaddy river delta region, where more people were killed by the tidal wave than the cyclone itself. | |
| Many of the coastal areas in the area remain cut off due to extensive flooding and road damage. | Many of the coastal areas in the area remain cut off due to extensive flooding and road damage. |
| The cyclone also caused massive damage in the former capital, Rangoon, felling trees and cutting power supplies. | |
| Aid agencies are now pushing for immediate access to the affected areas, but correspondents say the military-ruled country, isolated and impoverished, has long been wary of the international community and there are doubts over how much access the government will allow. |