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Members of the public in the UK have so far donated more than £1 million to the British Red Cross’ emergency appeal. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Myanmar (Burma) Appeal – an umbrella of British aid charities that pools fundraising for major disasters – has raised £10 million.
Urgent need
Such donations are needed urgently since casualty figures are continuing to rise. Official government figures estimate that 78,000 people have been killed and 56,000 people are missing. According to reports, 95 per cent of homes have been destroyed in villages along the south coast of the delta region.
Since the cyclone struck, 21 expatriate Red Cross aid workers have joined the team already in place at Yangon and are supporting the tireless work of 17,000 Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) volunteers who are delivering aid across the country.
Throughout the country, MRCS volunteers have distributed more than 198,000 water purification tablets, 40,000 litres of clean drinking water, 28,000 items of clothing, and 30,000 jerry cans to tens of thousands of cyclone survivors.
Emergency help
The British Red Cross also sent an emergency logistics flight – carrying two 4x4 vehicles, a forklift truck and warehouse tent – to help Red Cross delegates at Yangon airport speed the distribution of aid.
Pete Garratt, British Red Cross relief operations manager, said:"We continue to actively pursue every available opportunity to ensure that sufficient aid reaches those in need. More aid is needed and the national staff of the Myanmar Red Cross Society are doing a great job of distributing aid in places where international aid workers cannot go."
More about our Myanmar response
Cyclone Nargis in pictures
Myanmar information sheet | 
