(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-05-05 23:16

CRITICAL

The U.N. office in Yangon said there was an urgent need for plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking equipment, mosquito nets, health kits and food.

It said the situation outside Yangon was "critical, with shelter and safe water being the principal immediate needs".

Thailand responded to the disaster, sending a C-130 transport plane loaded with food and medicine to Yangon after the airport reopened on Monday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said.

In Yangon, many roofs were ripped off even sturdy buildings, suggesting damage would be severe in the shanty towns that lie on the outskirts of the city of 5 million people.

Clean water was scarce. Most shops had sold out of candles and batteries and there was no word when power would be restored.

Michael Annear, regional disaster chief for the International Red Cross, said emergency supplies were being handed out from stockpiles in Myanmar, but more was needed.

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