Another 41,000 were reported missing after a massive cyclone wreaked havoc at the weekend, while hundreds of thousands lack clean water or shelter.

An international aid effort is under way, with the UK announcing that £5 million in immediate financial assistance is being channelled through the UN and charities. The Government will also deploy an emergency field team to the country.

Speaking at a summit of business leaders in central London, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I believe nearly a million people are now in need of food aid and we will have to help the families of those where people have died.

"I want to pledge on behalf of the British Government that we will work with the whole international community to make sure that food aid is available to the people of Burma."

Cyclone Nargis smashed into Burma on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 120mph. More deaths were caused by a resulting 12ft wave than the cyclone itself, according to the Burmese authorities.

In the city of Bogalay in the Irrawaddy river delta, 95% of homes are thought to have been destroyed.

State media disclosed that 22,464 people had been confirmed dead and an additional 41,054 missing.

There has been widespread criticism of the secretive Burmese junta for failing to warn the population about the approaching storm. The regime has now agreed to accept help from the international community, but questions still remain over how much access foreign rescuers will be allowed to the country.

President George Bush said the US was ready to use its Navy "to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilise the situation", adding: "But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country."



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