May 6, 2008 Death toll in Myanmar continues to rise Play video

(NECN/ABC) - More than 10,000 people are dead and nearly a million are homeless after that massive cyclone in Myanmar.

Officials there say the death toll will likely continue to rise. Myanmar's military rules are asking for help and some aid is already on the way.

Pkg script: With so much devastation and death in Myanmar once known as Burma, the question today for those who survived is how long they'll be able to hang on.

"The day before it was the city you knew, and the day after, it's like another planet."

The killer cyclone left thousands of people missing, even more are thought to be homeless.

In a rare move for one of the world's most repressive regimes, the military Junta accepted international help.

The first air shipment is scheduled to arrive from nearby Thailand. This includes a quarter of a million dollars from the U.S..

First Lady Laura Bush, who has criticized the country's dictatorship, said more help is on the way, if the military allows a U.S. Disaster team in.

Laura Bush stated, "The money, the first fund, the first $250,000 from the US government is money that the embassy already has in a fund for something like this. And they can give it immediately to the World Food Program or other NGOs that are meeting the very immediate needs."

Many of the cyclone's victims are in the countryside which was cut off by the storm that washed -away roads.

Richard Horsey from the UN, "So it's a question

The people's resilience has been tested by 50 years of military rule. But a storm that destroyed so much, in a few hours, may be the toughest challenge yet.

ABC News reporter Viviana Hurtado has more on the story.