Myanmar state radio says cyclone death toll soars past 22,000

The death toll from the cyclone that battered Myanmar last weekend has risen above 22,000, state radio has reported. A news broadcast on government-run radio said Tuesday that 22,464 people have now been confirmed dead from Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the country's heartland and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday. The broadcast added that thousands more are missing. Relief efforts for the stricken area, mostly in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta, have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm. The first assistance from overseas arrived Tuesday from neighboring Thailand.