U.N. says 1.5 million people affected by Myanmar storm

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations estimated 1.5 million people have been "severely affected" by the cyclone that swept through Myanmar, with the United States expressing outrage on Thursday at delays in allowing in aid.

In Myanmar, desperate survivors cried out for food, water and other supplies nearly a week after 100,000 people were feared killed by Cyclone Nargis as it roared across the farms and villages of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region.

"We're outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of Burma (Myanmar) to welcome and accept assistance," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters.

"It's clear that the government's ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited."

The U.N. food agency and Red Cross/Red Crescent said they had finally started flying in emergency relief supplies after foot-dragging by Myanmar's ruling military junta. The United States was waiting for approval to start military flights.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that Washington was "fully prepared to help and to help right away, and it would be a tragedy if these assets" were not used.

The Navy said four ships, including the destroyer USS Mustin and the three-vessel Essex Expeditionary Strike Force, were heading for Myanmar from the Gulf of Thailand after the Essex deployed helicopters to Thailand for aid operations.

Witnesses have seen little evidence of a relief effort in the delta that was swamped in Saturday's storm. It was the worst cyclone in Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people were killed in neighboring Bangladesh.

"We'll starve to death if nothing is sent to us," said Zaw Win, a 32-year-old fisherman who waded through floating corpses to find a boat for the two-hour journey to Bogalay, a town where the government said 10,000 people were killed.

REMOVING OBSTACLES

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was seeking direct talks with the junta's senior general, Than Shwe, to persuade him to remove obstacles. A U.N. spokeswoman said Ban believed it might be "prudent" for the government to postpone a constitutional referendum planned for Saturday.

Some critics accuse the junta of stalling because they do not want an influx of foreigners into the countryside during the referendum on the army-drafted constitution that looks set to cement the military's grip on power.

U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes was asked by reporters if he suspected a link between the referendum and Myanmar's reluctance to grant visas to aid workers.

"The referendum may or may not be a complicating factor but as I say my focus is really on getting the aid to people as fast as possible," Holmes said.

Ban said in an interview on CNN it was "already very late" for taking immediate post-cyclone action but not too late for Myanmar's junta to accept help.