Kingsbridge

The death toll from Burma's devastating cyclone has now risen to more than 22,000, state media have said.

Another 41,000 are still missing and UN officials say up to a million people are without shelter in the Irawaddy delta region.

Most of the deaths reportedly came from the tidal wave that followed in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which hit the low-lying region with winds of up to 120 miles per hour.

"The wave was up to 12ft [3.5m] high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages," the Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe told reporters in Rangoon. "They did not have anywhere to flee."

International relief agencies have been calling on Burma's military government to relax restrictions on their operations in the wake of the disaster. Survivors faced poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean water, Unicef said in statement. Flooding could lead to outbreaks of malaria and dengue fever, while water-born diseases such as cholera and dysentery were also a threat.

Burma's Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe said: "The wave was up to 12ft [3.5m] high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages. They did not have anywhere to flee."

The Burmese Goverment has long been wary of the international community and at a news conference in Rangoon, the message was mixed.

"We are greatly thankful to friendly countries that are giving assistance to us," said Information Minister Kyaw Hsan.

But Social Welfare Minister Maung Maung Swe said foreign aid teams would still need to negotiate with ministry officials for access, the French news agency AFP reported.

Burma's Government has also come under fire for failing to issue adequate warnings in advance of the approaching storm. India's meteorological agency, which monitors cyclones in the Indian Ocean, says it warned the Burmese authorities 48 hours before the storm struck. The agency says it told Burma where the storm would hit land and how severe it was expected to be.

Burmese citizens have complained that they were not properly alerted, but Burmese state television issued a statement in English saying warnings were given several days beforehand.

"Timely weather reports were announced and aired through the television, and radio in order to keep the people safe and secure in nationwide," the statement said.

However, people in Burma say the severity of the cyclone was unclear and no instructions were given as to what action they should take.

Officials from the UN's disaster reduction agency in Geneva say the scale of the devastation suggests there was not a proper early warning system.

As rescue teams gain access to areas currently cut off as a result of the disaster, the death toll is expected to rise.

The article Burma's death toll rising originally appeared on 999 Today