United Nations: The United Nations has warned that the Myanmar could face a "second catastrophe" unless its military junta allows more access to foreign aid agencies to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

"Unless more access to Myanmar is granted to allow aid to flow more quickly, a second catastrophe could result," Elizabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned.

The hardest-hit areas of Yangon and Irrawaddy delta are experiencing heavy rains, further impeding aid efforts. The junta must open at least an air or sea corridor to channel aid in large quantities as quickly as possible, he said.

The Myanmar government has granted only 34 new visas to UN personnel, Byrs said, adding "this is not enough to respond to a disaster of this magnitude".

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency announced that more than 40 tonnes of its shelter supplies including plastic sheets, blankets, kitchen sets and tents have reached Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, in the past 24 hours.

Half of these items were airlifted in from Dubai. "Our staff are at the Yangon airport to claim the items for immediate dispatch to areas affected by the cyclone," said Jennifer Pagonis, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The other half of the supplies were driven overland from the Thai-Myanmar border in two trucks, carrying items from UNHCR's stockpiles for refugee camps along the Thai border, in a two-day journey through heavy rains.
Source : PTI