5.14.2008 8:29 AM

Another Cyclone Heading for Myanmar

"Significant" Storm Sweeps Over Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta Region

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Over ten days after the storm hit Myanmar children are seen waiting in long lines to receive food.

Photo: AP Photo

By Dan Shapley

Another "significant" tropical cyclone is brewing in the Andaman Sea, and it has Myanmar's major city, Yangon, in its cross-hairs.

While the storm is only forming now, it still is dropping rain on the ravaged region, and packs sustained winds of up to 35 mph, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

This cyclone is approaching Yangon from the opposite direction that Tropical Cyclone Nargis did. That storm formed in the Bay of Bengal, headed east, and struck with Category 4 hurricane strength in the Irrawaddy River Delta region. This second storm is forming in the Andaman Sea, headed West and may gain strength after it passes Myanmar and heads out into the Bay of Bengal.

With the official death toll climbing by the day, and Myanmar's military junta still restricting the access of relief workers, some 2 million people may be at risk of starvation or disease because of atrocious living conditions in the wake of Nargis.