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With 4,000 now being confirmed dead, and nearly 3,000 listed as missing in just Yangon, which is Myanmar's largest city the death toll is very likely to reach as many 10,000 nationwide as admitted by diplomats in the nation.
Burma has recently been under fire for violent and serious violations of human rights, both in relation to the protests in support of Tibet and as just a rule of thumb for the autocratic regime in power.
The current regimes antagonistic policies toward outside intervention has been temporarily put on hold to ask for assistance from the international community in providing some of the basic necessities for Burma citizens, who have only a sputtering electrical system at best, and which is now totally offline.
The lack of electricity means the water pumps normally used are no longer available making life precarious in a nation which has refused to join even the twentieth century standards of living in large part.
"It's clear that we're dealing with a very serious situation. The full extent of the impact and needs will require an extensive on-the-ground assessment," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman in Bangkok, Thailand for United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"What is clear at this point is that there are several hundred thousands of people in dire need of shelter and clean drinking water," Horsey said
Both the cost of fuel for generators for the richer families, and the price of candles for poor families has in some cases doubled in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
This story is undoubtedly going to change as the full extent of the damages caused are made known from a country with only rudimentary communications to most of the areas outside the Capitol.
