22,000

That is the number dead from the cyclone strike in Myanmar. When I heard that number on NPR this morning, I was shocked. And that may be the tip of the iceberg.



Satellite images taken by the NASA MODIS program show the Irrawaddy region on April 15(L) before Cyclone Nargis and May 5 (R) after Cyclone Nargis.(AFP/NASA/MODIS)

YANGON, Myanmar - The cyclone death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others were missing as the international community prepared to rush in aid after the country's deadliest storm on record, state radio reported.

[Snip]

"From the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge," Mac Pieczowski, who heads the International Organization for Migration office in Yangon, said in a statement.