Myanmar cyclone claims at least 50,000

Myanmar's government is reporting that as many as 50,000 people died and up to 3 million people were left homeless by the monster cyclone that ripped the country.

The normally secretive military junta ruling the country formerly known as Burma has appealed for foreign assistance in the devastation.

YANGON, Myanmar -- As many as 50,000 people died and up to 3 million people were left homeless by the monster cyclone that ripped Myanmar, foreign aid workers said Tuesday.

The official death count after the weekend's Cyclone Nargis was 15,000, while 30,000 were officially listed as missing, The Times of London reported. However, incomplete information from the Irrawaddy delta and Yangon, formerly Rangoon, prompted foreign aid organizations to say they believe the official number will be adjusted higher.

"I'd characterize it as unprecedented in the history of Myanmar," said Andrew Kirkwood of the British non-profit Save The Children. "It might well be more dead than the (2004) tsunami caused in Sri Lanka" when 31,000 died.

Seven townships were designated "priority one" disaster areas, signifying between 90 percent to 95 percent of the buildings were destroyed.

Foreign aid agencies report bodies have not been removed from rice fields and survivors remained without food, clean drinking water and little shelter, the British newspaper said.

The normally secretive military junta ruling the country formerly known as Burma has appealed for foreign assistance in the devastation.

"We will welcome help ... from other countries because our people are in difficulty," Foreign Minister Nyah Win said in a rare appearance on state-run television.

Despite the disaster, the junta plans to hold Saturday's referendum on a constitution, which critics see as a ploy to kept the military in power.