Burma is in trouble

The directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid arriving into the country for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was being stolen, diverted or warehoused by the country’s army.

The United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there was a possibility that “a significant tropical cyclone” — a second big storm — would form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy Delta, the region that suffered most from the first storm that struck on May 3.

The UN has sharply increased its estimate of those severely affected by Burma's cyclone to 2.5m people.

The figure was revised up from the 1.5m previously thought to be in need, following the storm 12 days ago.

THE official death toll from Cyclone Nargis which hit Burma on May 3 has been updated to 38,491, with 27,838 people missing, state radio said.

The new toll announced today was raised from 34,273 dead and 27,836 missing, issued yesterday.

As well as the dead and missing, another 1,403 were injured, state radio said.

However, the United Nations has warned the number of dead likely exceeds 100,000, and that many more may die unless vital aid reaches up to two million survivors.

An alert issued by the U.S. government's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor on Wednesday said that the formation of a "significant" cyclone is possible within the next 12 to 24 hours.

Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian relief program, said that if the cyclone does form, it could spell a new disaster for Burma.

"We’re very concerned of the impact of further hazards which can provide even more suffering," she told CBC News from Bangkok.

"They've already been weakened by the impact of the [first] cyclone. They haven’t got enough to eat, they don’t have shelter from the torrential monsoon rains, they haven’t got clean drinking water, and some of them may be suffering from injuries which have not been treated since the cyclone."

Cyclone Nargis killed an estimated 62,000 people, according to the official state count, but the UN fears the death toll is well beyond 100,000.

Pitt said 1.5 million to two million survivors are now at risk of disease and starvation if they don't get access to food, clean drinking water, supplies and medicines soon.

There haven't been any major outbreaks of disease yet, Pitt said, but cases of malaria and diarrhea have been reported.

'Modest progress' in reaching survivors

Heavy rains, flooding and damaged roads have made it difficult to reach survivors, many of whom have seen their homes and rice farms wash away, especially in the hard hit Irrawaddy Delta.

Compounding the problem is that Burma's military government has blocked several relief planes from entering the country with aid supplies. The military junta has also refused visas to many foreign aid workers.

Rumours are swirling among foreign aid workers that the junta is hoarding good foreign relief supplies for itself, and doling out low-quality rice, biscuits and other items to survivors. Burma has denied these accusations.