Myanmar cyclone a `major, major disaster`: UN

Images: Victims are seen in the Pyarmalot river following Cyclone Nargis, in Labutta town, Ayeyarwaddy province on Sunday, May 4, 2008. A UN official declared Myanmar`s cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta a `major, major disaster`.

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`Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out,` according to the minutes of a meeting of the UN task force coordinating relief for Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday.

It said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon `will contact Myanmar` to arrange a meeting with high-ranking officials on the issue.

State media in military-ruled Myanmar said more than 22,000 people died when Cyclone Nargis blasted the country`s western coast on Saturday and over 41,000 others were missing. But Horsey predicted the number of fatalities could rise `dramatically.`

Local aid workers started distributing water purification tablets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and basic medical supplies. But heavily flooded areas were accessible only by boat, with helicopters unable to deliver relief supplies there, Horsey said.

A few shops opened on Wednesday in the delta but were quickly stormed by people, said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the UN World Food Programme in Bangkok, quoting his agency`s workers in the area.

`Fist fights are breaking out,` he said.