The huge swathe of Burma where nearly 22,000 people were killed by cyclone Nargis remained largely cut off from the rest of the world today.
Another 41,000 people are missing and aid organisations were still waiting for permission from the ruling military junta to move into the country in force.
Phone lines were down, most roads were virtually impassible and few aircraft were available to reach the more remote areas.
Amid the death and chaos were growing fears that deadly diseases would spread through the surviving population in a country with one of the world's poorest public health systems.
Concerns also mounted over the lack of food, water and shelter in the Irrawaddy delta.
``Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself,'' said a UN Children's Fund spokeswoman.
The government, which normally shuns international attention, has appealed for foreign aid and also announced it was delaying a crucial constitutional referendum in the hardest hit areas.
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