Dangerous Cyclone Raking Across Burma

Cyclone Nargis in the Bay of Bengal struck the southern coast of Arakan State in Burma on Thursday and on Friday struck Chaung Tha and Ngwe Saung, two famous beaches, and other areas in Irrawaddy Division.

The cyclone has winds of up to 100 miles per hour. There have been no reports from the area of dead or injured so far.

This image provided by NASA's MODIS instrument on board the Terra satellite shows Cyclone Nargis as it approaches the coast of Burma Thursday. (Photo: AP/NASA)

The cyclone is scheduled to strike coastal areas of southern Burma on Friday afternoon. The path of the storm may cross Rangoon, Burma’s largest city.

The military government and international humanitarian organizations are not prepared to provide relief and assistance to people who suffer injuries or are left homeless, according to observers.

Flooding is expected in areas where the storm strikes, warned Burma’s department of Meteorology and Hydrology, according to the state-own newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.

Informing residents in the storm’s path was proving difficult because of a lack of mass media communication.

Announcements and warnings were broadcast on state-run MRTV television and radio but due to the lack of electricity, many Burmese in coastal areas, especially outside of cities, were unaware of the storm’s approach.

A resident in Sittwe, the largest city in Arakan State, said people there briefly heard news warnings on the BBC and RFA, but they had little specific information.

Holland-based Medicine Sans Frontier said it could help people who may be injured, but it can not travel to storm-hit areas without approval from the military government.

In mid-May 2004, a cyclone which generated winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour struck Arakan State. It caused massive devastation, leaving about 1,000 people dead.