At the request of the Myanmar authorities, the ICRC will provide temporary shelter, emergency household items, and enough food, drinking water and essential drugs to last two weeks. In addition, it will support efforts to restore the water and sanitation systems to working order.

"We have been told that several detention facilities were hit by the cyclone," said the ICRC's head of delegation in Myanmar, Pierre-André Conod. "We notified the authorities that we were ready to act quickly, provided we received the necessary authorizations."

The ICRC is also considering how best to help family members separated by the disaster to re-establish contact with one another and how best to help in the recovery, identification and dignified management of the dead. It has drawn up an initial budget of two million Swiss francs for this initial operation.

The ICRC has already donated medical supplies to the Myanmar Red Cross Society for the treatment of 200 patients suffering from traumatic injuries, and it has provided a generator for a Ministry of Defence hospital caring for 80 amputees.

The ICRC has made four vehicles with drivers available to the Myanmar Red Cross to enable it to assess needs in the worst-hit areas. The ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are coordinating their efforts to support the Myanmar Red Cross as it assesses and responds to the needs. The ICRC currently has five expatriate and 90 local staff working in Myanmar.