Burma’s isolated and xenophobic generals appealed for international help yesterday after a catastrophic cyclone killed at least 10,000 people and made hundreds of thousands homeless in the country’s agricultural heartland.

United Nations agencies were preparing last night to fly in emergency food, shelter and medical supplies to prevent epidemics and starvation inflicting a second disaster on the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which ripped across Burma on Saturday at 120mph (193km/h), destroying buildings and fields, toppling trees and washing away roads in the city of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta.

Despite a long-standing suspicion of foreign aid agencies, the Burmese Foreign Minister indicated that his Government would accept aid.

“According to the latest information, more than 10,000 people were killed,” Nyan Win said, after meeting foreign diplomats. “We will welcome help . . . from other countries because our people are in difficulty.”

However, the US State Department reported that an offer of $250,000 (£125,000) in help and a disaster assistance team had been rejected, suggesting that the junta might be selective about what it accepts.

Laura Bush, the First Lady, urged Burma to stop hindering the international relief effort. “The United States stands prepared to provide an assistance team and much-needed supplies to Burma, as soon as the Burmese Government accepts our offer,” she said.

The US and EU states have imposed economic sanctions on Burma’s repressive junta. In the past, humanitarian aid programmes have also been limited because of fears that they would benefit the generals.

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