YANGON (Reuters) - More than 138,000 are dead or missing from the devastating cyclone that struck Myanmar last month, the government said on Tuesday, according to an Asian diplomat.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu informed a meeting ofgovernment and foreign aid workers the official death toll fromthe May 2 disaster had risen to 84,537 from a previous figureof 77,738, the diplomat told Reuters.
The number of missing fell to 53,836 from 55,917 announcedby the government in its last casualty update on May 16.
Nearly two months after Cyclone Nargis left up to 2.4million people destitute, a joint assessment team has recentlycompleted its work and a new appeal for foreign aid is expectedin July.
(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Darren Schuettlerand Jerry Norton)
