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The Foreign Ministry is sending $100,000 in initial emergency food and medical supplies to survivors of the deadly cyclone that battered Myanmar over the weekend, killing over 22,000 people. The Israeli aid is being sent in coordination with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. A United Nations official declared Myanmar's cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta a "major, major disaster" Wednesday with corpses floating in flooded areas and enormous challenges in getting aid to the neediest victims.International aid began trickling into military-ruled Myanmar, but much of the Irrawaddy delta, where most of the 22,464 reported victims perished, has remained cut off since Cyclone Nargis hit early Saturday. The Foreign ministry is planning to organize a larger aid shipment in the next few days, and is helping the members of aid teams for several Israeli non-governmental organizations obtain visas to enter Myanmar. In addition, the ministry has made contact with eight of the estimated 10 Israelis who were in Myanmar when the cyclone hit. It is still trying to reach the other two, but says its inability to do so is likely due to the collapse of Myanmar telephone lines, and the erratic functioning of the Israel Embassy caused by the difficulties posed by the natural disaster. Ministry officials said that at this point there is no cause for concern. The Foreign Ministry is calling on Israelis not to go to Myanmar any time soon, citing flooding, food supply difficulties, and the collapse of essential services such as electricity, water and telephone communication. "Basically the entire lower delta region is under water," said Richard Horsey, Bangkok-based spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid. He predicted the number of fatalities could rise dramatically beyond the figure given by Myanmar officials Tuesday. "Aid workers started distributing essential relief supplies in the region, including water purification tablets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and basic medical supplies. But heavily flooded areas were accessible only by boat, with helicopters unable to deliver relief supplies there," he said. "Teams are talking about bodies floating around in the water," he said. "This is a major, major disaster we're dealing with."by Barak Ravid
As in the days of Noah...
