Myanmar death toll more than 22,000 people

Cyclone Nargis left Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, decimated after it tore through the region on Saturday. The state radio said Tuesday that 22,464 people have been confirmed dead so far. More than one million people have also been left homeless and vast areas of rice-growing areas have been wiped out from the storm.

"More or less all the land lines are down and it's extremely difficult to get information from cyclone-affected areas. But from the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge," said Mac Pieczowski, who heads the International Organization for Migration office in Yangon, in a statement.

Countries around the world are offering aid to the devastated Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma. United States government officials said they are ready to help as long as the U.S. disaster team is invited into the country.

"Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself," said Caryl Stern, who heads the U.N. Children's Fund in the United States.