Myanmar's ruling junta has announced that 84,500 people perished in Cyclone Nargis in May, up from an earlier confirmed toll of 77,700. Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu told reporters Tuesday that the official death toll stood at 84,537 and 53,836 still missing. Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3 cut a swath of destruction through the Irrawaddy river delta and in and around the country's largest city, Yangon. A major international effort is under way to aid some 2.4 million survivors of the natural disaster, the worst in Myanmar's modern history, according to an international news agency report. Tuesday's update was the first since May 17, when officials said 77,738 had died and 55,917 were missing.
