Burma: 240 killed in cyclone

More than 240 people have died in Burma from a powerful cyclone, according to media reports.

Burma state television said at least 243 people died in Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

The military-run Myaddy television station said five regions of the country have been declared disaster zones.

Witnesses say yesterday’s cyclone blew the roofs off hundreds of houses and caused power cuts in the largest city Rangoon.

Chris Kaye, the United Nation's acting humanitarian coordinator, said thousands of homes have destroyed, mostly in the low-lying Irrawaddy delta.