International agencies are pushing to gain access for a massive aid operation in Burma, where the toll from Saturday's cyclone continues to rise. Up to 15,000 people are said to have died in the disaster, and many more are missing, officials say.
Hundreds of thousands of people are said to be without clean water and shelter, with some areas still cut-off.
Burma's leaders say they will accept external help, in a move correspondents say reflects the scale of the disaster.
The country's military junta has said it will postpone to 24 May a referendum on a new constitution in areas worst-hit by the cyclone, the capital, Rangoon, and the Irrawaddy delta, state television said on Tuesday.
But the vote initially planned for 10 May will proceed as planned in the rest of the country, the report said.
'Catastrophe'
Work is still under way to assess the scale of the devastation caused by the cyclone, which brought winds reaching 190km/h (120mph).
The director for the World Food Programme in Burma, Chris Raye, said information about the destruction in the Irrawady Delta was still emerging, but it was clear it was on a very large scale.
"We have a major humanitarian catastrophe in our hands. The numbers of people in need are still to be determined, but I'm sure we're talking of hundreds and thousands," he told the BBC World Service's World Today programme from Rangoon.
"The concern that we have is in respect to shelter, water and sanitation. Those are the acute needs which need to be fulfilled as a matter of urgency, and to be able to address those is a prerequisite to ensuring that the humanitarian situation does not deteriorate.
Andrew Kirkwood, Burma country director for Save the Children, said there were positive signs from the Burmese authorities, who have traditionally been suspicious of aid agencies, limiting their activities.
"Every indication is that everyone realises that this is an unprecedented event in Myanmar's [Burma's] history and the government is much more open to international assistance than it has ever been."
Mr Kirkwood said that responding to the devastation would be a major logistical feat, requiring boats and trucks.
'Dire need'
In the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta region, the storm caused a sea surge that smashed through towns and villages
"Those areas in the southern part of the Delta - Bogalay, Laputta and Gyapor - were very severely affected, particularly by the storm surge," Mr Raye told.
"And a storm surge in a low-lying area such as that, coupled with very high winds, clearly has served to flatten large areas of that part of the delta, and of course taken villages and villagers with it."
The storm destroyed roads, downed power lines and flattened houses, leaving people across the region homeless.
"Reports are coming out of the delta coast, particularly the Irrawaddy region, that in some villages up to 95% of houses have been destroyed," said Matthew Cochrane of the International Red Cross.
Prices of food, fuel and basic necessities have also risen dramatically in the wake of the storm, putting more people at risk
Some pictures
Source-BBC
Hundreds of thousands of people are said to be without clean water and shelter, with some areas still cut-off.
Burma's leaders say they will accept external help, in a move correspondents say reflects the scale of the disaster.
The country's military junta has said it will postpone to 24 May a referendum on a new constitution in areas worst-hit by the cyclone, the capital, Rangoon, and the Irrawaddy delta, state television said on Tuesday.
But the vote initially planned for 10 May will proceed as planned in the rest of the country, the report said.
'Catastrophe'
Work is still under way to assess the scale of the devastation caused by the cyclone, which brought winds reaching 190km/h (120mph).
The director for the World Food Programme in Burma, Chris Raye, said information about the destruction in the Irrawady Delta was still emerging, but it was clear it was on a very large scale.
"We have a major humanitarian catastrophe in our hands. The numbers of people in need are still to be determined, but I'm sure we're talking of hundreds and thousands," he told the BBC World Service's World Today programme from Rangoon.
"The concern that we have is in respect to shelter, water and sanitation. Those are the acute needs which need to be fulfilled as a matter of urgency, and to be able to address those is a prerequisite to ensuring that the humanitarian situation does not deteriorate.
Andrew Kirkwood, Burma country director for Save the Children, said there were positive signs from the Burmese authorities, who have traditionally been suspicious of aid agencies, limiting their activities.
"Every indication is that everyone realises that this is an unprecedented event in Myanmar's [Burma's] history and the government is much more open to international assistance than it has ever been."
Mr Kirkwood said that responding to the devastation would be a major logistical feat, requiring boats and trucks.
'Dire need'
In the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta region, the storm caused a sea surge that smashed through towns and villages
"Those areas in the southern part of the Delta - Bogalay, Laputta and Gyapor - were very severely affected, particularly by the storm surge," Mr Raye told.
"And a storm surge in a low-lying area such as that, coupled with very high winds, clearly has served to flatten large areas of that part of the delta, and of course taken villages and villagers with it."
The storm destroyed roads, downed power lines and flattened houses, leaving people across the region homeless.
"Reports are coming out of the delta coast, particularly the Irrawaddy region, that in some villages up to 95% of houses have been destroyed," said Matthew Cochrane of the International Red Cross.
Prices of food, fuel and basic necessities have also risen dramatically in the wake of the storm, putting more people at risk
Some pictures
Source-BBC
maara storm 1 k ne
