#200. Why Are Cyclone Victums Hungry?

YANGON, Myanmar- Little aid has been able to reach the devastated Irrawaddy delta area since a cyclone killed more than 20,000 people and has left 40,000 plus people homeless. The cyclone hit the country with 150mph winds and more than 11feet storm water surges.Damage was also extensive that many are without power and the streets are littered with debris and fallen trees.As shops opened, many fights broke out due to hunger but aid groups and governments grow frustrated by their lack of access to the country.Internal U.N. documents showed growing frustrations at the long delay by the country's military junta.Visas are still a problem. Aid workers have waited for days to get paperwork to enter Myanmar.Associated Press reported that Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that five states hit hardest by Saturday's cyclone produce 65 percent of the country's rice, which means there is likely going to be incredible shortages in the next 18 to 24 months.The Myanmar Red Cross has been handing out relief supplies, such as clean drinking water, plastic sheeting, clothing, insecticide-treated bed nets to help prevent malaria, and kitchen items, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.The United States has pledged over $3 million and is offering to send Navy ships to the region to aid relief efforts. Britain, Japan, the European Union, China, India, Thailand, Australia, Canada and Bangladesh have also pitched in.