SITUATION IN MYANMAR: 1. Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, sweeping through the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta region and the country?s largest city, Yangon. The authorities have declared five states and divisions (Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Mon and Kayin) to be disaster zones.... 2. It is quickly becoming clear that the cyclone has caused unprecedented devastation in the affected areas. Buildings and infrastructure have been severely damaged, and flooding is widespread. The low-lying delta region also suffered from the effects of a sizable storm surge, which is feared to have wiped out whole villages. Latest state media reports put the death toll at approximately 22,500 with 41,000 missing. There are unconfirmed reports that 10,000 are reported as having died in the Delta town of Bogalay alone.... 3. Hundreds of thousands can be expected to be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The combined total population of the declared disaster areas is around 24 million. Damaged infrastructure and communications will pose major logistical problems for relief operations. Humanitarian partners in the country have begun the process of collecting information about the scale of the destruction, but access to many areas remains severely restricted. Certain parts of the delta can be reached only by boat, for example.... 4. The UN Country Team considers critical needs to be plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits and food. Reports of water and fuel shortages are already appearing in mainstream media. The food security situation in the country, which was already severe, looks set to become far more acute.