The first major international delivery of aid has finally landed in Burma amidst new fears the death toll from this week’s cyclone could top 100,000. The initial toll was 22,000, but a US diplomat says another 80,000 people could have died. At least one million people are said to be homeless. A UN relief plane landed earlier today after waiting nearly forty-eight hours for clearance from Burma’s military junta. The junta is coming under intense criticism for delaying international relief. The UN’s top humanitarian official, John Holmes, says Burma is facing a “major catastrophe.”

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes: “I think it’s clear to all of us that we are faced here with a major catastrophe in, in particular, the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar. You’ve seen those official casualty figures. It is not impossible, in fact I think it’s quite likely, that those figures will continue to rise and that we are really facing, as I say, a major catastrophe there.”

Cyclone Nargis was the largest to hit Asia since 1991.