Munks protesting in Burma September 2007. Photo by racoles, Flickr.

60.000 people have been confirmed dead, more than 40.000 are still missing, and hundreds of thousands of people need shelter or drinking water after the violent storm Nargis hit Burma on Saturday. There is fear that the number of dead could rise to 100.000. The devastation is big in the region Irrawaddy including the capital Rangoon which together with four other regions have been declared disaster zones. Torn down telephone lines, devastated roads and no electricity means it will takes days before it's possible to get a complete overview of the situation.

On Monday the UN and international aid organizations held a meeting in Thailand to plan emergency aid. Burma's military government has now accepted assistance from the UN and the first flight with aid from the UN arrived in Burma on Thursday with three more flights scheduled. Aid from international organizations have been delayed by reluctance from the Burmese government to accept outside help, it is claimed out of suspicion of outside interference. Flights from Western agencies have been held up but some of Burma's neighbours in the region have been able to fly in emergency aid. On Friday the UN suspended further help as UN aid shipments had been confiscated by the Burmese authorities. Burma's military leaders refuse to let foreign aid workers into the country.

The cyclone hit Burma one week before the scheduled referendum on Burma's new constitution on Saturday. State media has announced that the referendum will be held as planned. According to Burma's military leaders the referendum will lead to multi-party elections in 2010. The democratic movement in Burma is critical to the referendum and claims it will instead further strengthen the power of the military.