Cyclone Nargis Devastates Country with 215 km/h Winds

On 3 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar with winds of up to 215 km/h (135 mph) when it touched land in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division. It is estimated that more than 130,000 people died or went missing and damage totalled 10 billion US dollars, making it the worst natural disaster in Burmese history. The World Food Programme reported that some villages were almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas were wiped out. The United Nations estimated that as many as 1 million were left homeless, and the World Health Organization received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area. However, in the critical days following the disaster, Myanmar's isolationist regime complicated recovery efforts by delaying the entry of United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. The government's failure to permit entry for large-scale international relief efforts was described by the United Nations as unprecedented.