The number of dead and missing in Burma could be as high as 100,000. Up to a million have been left homeless. Survivors face poor sanitation, a lack of access to clean water, and the threat of disease.

The United Nations is mobilising aid and giving assistance. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said it will release $5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to kick-start the relief effort. The World Food Programme has begun distributing food and relief supplies to badly hit areas. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has supplied the Burmese government with material for emergency shelter. Field staff for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have started distributing medicines, first-aid kits and oral rehydration tablets.

Would you like to help? You can make an online donation to help the humanitarian effort through the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, the UN World Food Programme, UNHCR and UNICEF.