Cyclone Nargis slams into Myanmar
Tropical cyclone Nargis has hit coastal Myanmar early this morning causing much damage and flooding.
The storm made landfall around the mouth of the Ayeyawaddy (Irrawaddy) river, about 137 miles (220 kilometres) southwest of the capital, Yangon. Tidal surges up to 3.5 meters (12 feet) were generated by the storm giving coastal flooding in low-lying areas.
Cyclone Nargis weakened considerably as it made landfall but winds reached gusts of 80mph (129km/h) ripping down power lines, damaging houses and unleashing torrential rain. Parts of Yangon have been devastated by the storm with scores of roads cut off by fallen trees and strewed masonry.
Nargis has been brewing out in the Bay of Bengal over the past few days and was forecast to make landfall in Bangladesh, however the storm veered towards the east, taking it to Myanmar.
This decaying storm will continue moving further inland to eventually affect northern parts of Thailand over the next couple of days. Forecasters expect heavy rain and thunderstorms which could give rise to local flooding in places.
