בורמא מעגליך א האלב מיליאן טויט רח"ל

Last night's warning came as it emerged that 17 Britons, including ex-pats and backpackers, were still missing.

Sources said 200,000 people were already dead or dying.

But the figure could rise to HALF A MILLION through disease and hunger if the nation's hardline army rulers continue to block aid for the devastated lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta.

That would dwarf the 230,000 deaths across South East Asia in the 2004 catastrophe.