UN: $375 million in aid is needed for cyclone-stricken Myanmar and Bangladesh.

A cyclone that devastated parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh has left millions of people without food, medicine, or other essential supplies, according to the United Nations, which today announced that it needs $375 million in funding.

On May 14, Cyclone Mocha wreaked havoc across western Myanmar and provinces in neighboring Bangladesh, where there is a sizable Rohingya Muslim and refugee population. It is estimated that hundreds of people died and significant damage was done.

A separate $42 million was required for Bangladesh, while the UN requested a total of $122 million for Myanmar and directed $211 million of existing funds toward cyclone response.

Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the UN's resident coordinator for Myanmar, said, "We are now in a race against time to provide people with safe shelter in all affected communities and prevent the spread of water-borne disease," adding that donors needed to "dig deep" to support relief efforts.

The appeal comes as aid agencies battle to reach the worst-affected regions due to storm damage while they wait for approval from Myanmar's military government.

More than a week after the disaster, a senior aid worker who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity said that supplies were still being held in warehouses in the commercial capital of Yangon while they awaited clearance.

The aid worker said, "If we had full, unrestricted access, we would have been able to empty our warehouses.. send (supplies) to Sittwe and deliver assistance on a much greater scale," adding that aid organizations were keeping quiet publicly out of concern for reprisals from the military.

It was impossible to reach a junta spokesperson for comment. According to military leadership, 145 people perished in the storm, and aid is now reaching the affected areas.

A phone interview with a survivor in western Myanmar revealed that since May 19, supplies, such as blankets and mosquito nets, have been trickling into his village of about 400 homes, many of which were destroyed.

"Before that, only the wealthy could afford to buy food; the poor simply went hungry. We desperately need medicine and clinics but lack both. We also need more food supplies, the survivor said, declining to be named out of concern for his safety.

The money would help 1.6 million affected people in five regions of Myanmar: Chin, Sagaing, Magway, Kachin, and Rakhine, which is home to a sizable Muslim minority who are being persecuted and who have been denied recognition by previous Myanmar governments.

According to Gwyn Lewis, the UN's resident coordinator in Dhaka, a "sophisticated disaster management system" in Bangladesh saved many lives, but infrastructure and homes sustained significant damage.