New cyclone forming in Burma area

A second cyclone is forming near Burma, less than two weeks after it was devastated by a killer storm, the United Nations said today.

Amanda Pitt, spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian relief programme, could not say where the landfall would be or when it would become a full-fledged cyclone.

She told reporters that another cyclone was likely, saying: "This is terrible."

She said the information about the possible cyclone came from the Joint Typhoon Warning centre, part of the UN's World Meteorological Centre, who said on its website that there was "potential for the development'' of a storm in the Irrawaddy delta.

"The circulation centre (of the storm) is currently transiting generally northwestward across the Yangon delta region of Myanmar (Burma)", she said.

"This is always a worry when you have further hazards affecting people," she added, explaining that it "impacts people's ability to survive and cope with what happened to them".

"They are already weak. This is a great problem and impacts on how we can help people,"

The May 2-3 cyclone that pulverised Burma's Irrawaddy delta left more than 60,000 people dead or missing.

The news came hours after the first international aid official allowed into the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta by Burma's military leaders described towns rendered unrecognisable, survivors exposed to pouring rain and local "humanitarian" heroes saving lives.

Soldiers have barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, but gave access to an International Red Cross representative who returned to Rangoon yesterday.

In contrast, the ruling junta has been blasted by aid agencies for refusing to allow most foreign experts into the delta and not responding adequately to what they say is a spiralling crisis.

Some victims were reportedly getting spoiled or poor-quality food, rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to suspicions that the junta may be misappropriating foreign aid following the May 3 storm that killed more than 34,000 people.

Two million people, mostly poor rice farmers, have been left homeless or are in dire need following the storm, facing disease and starvation.

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