The junta's slow response to the death and destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis and soaring prices for food and fuel could foment fresh unrest in military-run Myanmar, analysts say. At least 22,000 people are dead and nearly twice as many missing, and aid workers are struggling to get visas to bring life-saving supplies into the country. Food, water and fuel are scarce in storm-ravaged areas including the economic hub and former capital Yangon. Where they are available, prices are beyond the reach of most people in the impoverished country.

Environmentalists have warned that tropical cyclone Nargis, which has left more than 20,000 persons dead and 40,000 missing and thousands homeless, is not just a natural disaster but a man-made disaster because of climate change. Nargis, the green brigade says, happened because "the rich have failed to contain greenhouse gas emissions necessary for their growth'.

The death toll from the cyclone that devastated the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar last weekend may exceed 100,000, the top U.S. diplomat in the nation said Wednesday.

It poses a real dilemma for humanitarian agencies about how far they should be prepared to accept restrictions of their operations in the interests of the people they are trying to help. But in the wake of the recent cyclone they must act fast to save lives. BROOKS NO DELAY: Residents of Yangon in search of water. International aid has barely begun to trickle into cyclone-stricken Myanmar.

The World Meteorological Organisation said on Wednesday that Burma had issued warnings ahead of the devastating cyclone, but could not confirm whether they reached the population. The WMO also said it is unclear if Burma has contingency plans to deal with natural disasters, such as the one which has left 22,000 dead, and that it will send a team to help the country develop such emergency procedures.

The deadly cyclone that ripped into Burma over the weekend could shake the stranglehold on power of the country's ruling generals, becoming a force for change more powerful than massive pro-democracy demonstrations and international sanctions. Natural disasters by themselves are unlikely to trigger change, but instead tend to help undermine already corrupt or failing systems.

Visa denied to volunteers, Ban will

A cyclone with winds up to 120 mph. A low-lying, densely populated delta region, stripped of its protective trees. When Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta and pushed a wall of water 25 miles inland, it had all the makings of a massive disaster. ''When we saw the (storm) track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good,'' said Mark Lander, a meteorology professor at the University of Guam. ''It would create a big storm surge. It was like Katrina going into New Orleans.''

Out Of 2 Lakh Population, 10,000 Killed Yangon: The cyclone that hit Myanmar at the weekend destroyed 95% of the homes in the city of Bogalay, where more than 10,000 people died, the minister for social welfare told reporters on Tuesday. Most of the 1,90,000 residents of Bogalay were homeless after the storm swept through the Irrawaddy river delta in the early hours of Saturday, Maung Maung Swe told a press conference.

Burma's state media on Tuesday urged people to take precautions against disease in regions hit by tropical Cyclone Nargis. The cyclone tore through south-western Burma at the weekend, devastating the Irrawaddy Delta region and hammering the nation's main city of Rangoon. Many of the city's six million people were spending a fourth day on Tuesday without water or electricity, as trash and debris piled on the sidewalks. State radio urged people to safeguard their health and "to drink boiled water and keep pests out of food."