UPDATED: 1:52 EDT May 7, 2008


A U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said 100,000 may have died in a cyclone, a sharp increase of the number of deaths reported by Myanmar's media.

Reports from state-run media said at least 22,000 people are dead and 41,000 are missing.

Corpses have been seen in the flood waters, and survivors were rigging blankets as makeshift sails on boats in desperate attempts to reach dry land.

A spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid said aid workers describe "bodies floating around in the water."

Richard Horsey added that they are dealing with "a major, major disaster" and predicted that the death toll could rise dramatically.

The misery continued to deepen in Myanmar on Wednesday.

There were reports of hungry crowds breaking into the few shops that remain open since Saturday's cyclone.

Food remained scarce in the hard-hit delta region and Myanmar's military rulers have been reluctant to allow massive international aid into the country.

Aid On Hold

Internal U.N. documents said Myanmar's government is dragging its feet on giving visas to aid workers who are waiting to help cyclone survivors.

One of the documents obtained by The Associated Press said, "Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out."

The document said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "will contact Myanmar" to arrange a meeting with high ranking officials on the issue.

In the meantime, there was word that local aid groups in Myanmar were handing out rice porridge Wednesday to cyclone survivors.

People were grabbing it up in dirty plastic shopping bags.

Workers have been able to start distributing other essential relief supplies in the region, including water purification tablets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and basic medical supplies. But heavily flooded areas are accessible only by boat.

The price of bottled water, rice and cooking oil in Myanmar has soared since the weekend storm.

President George W. Bush has urged Myanmar to let U.S. experts join the recovery effort.

The administration has pledged more than $3 million in aid, and Bush said the U.S. wants to do "a lot more."

However, the president said Myanmar's leaders aren't letting a U.S. disaster team into the country.

White House aides said the team is standing by in Thailand.

Some international groups have started to reach areas devastated by the weekend storm. But administration officials are calling the response to the disaster by Myanmar's military leaders "inept."

Very tragic

I have had an e-mail asking for donations I wonder if it was bogus.l

very tragic... and i'm sure there are some bogus e-mails going around..

best way to donate is to donate to the red cross (that is if they can get in there to help)

I will wait and see if they can get in

I wouldn't give any donations to any email I would get. Wouldn't trust it.

That's what happens in a poor country and a big storm.

I don't trust on line requests either. It is a shame all that aid that is being offered and they won't let it in