UK's tsunami-style appeal for Burma

As the death toll soared past 22,000, the Disasters Emergency Committee has been holding talks about launching an appeal similar to that in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Britain has already announced a £5 million aid package to be channelled through the United Nations and charities.

The Government is also deploying an emergency field team to the country.

With reports of food prices inside Burma rocketing 50% overnight in the face of acute demand, several organisations have made their own multi-million pound pleas for donations.

Save the Children was among the first to launch its own plea for cash, calling for £5 million from global supporters. World Vision set itself a target of £1.5 million.

Others committed existing funds for the effort. Oxfam set aside £250,000 from funds and said it had put a team on standby. The British Red Cross released an initial £30,000 from its disaster fund.

The organisation said it already had 17,000 Burmese volunteers on the ground distributing cooking and hygiene kits, drinking water and items such as mosquito nets, through its Burmese affiliate the Myanmar Red Cross.

It added that volunteers were already in outlying parts of the Irrawaddy and Bago areas, as well as the tribal Karen and Mon States.

As well as the 22,000 dead, another 41,000 were reported missing after a massive cyclone wreaked havoc at the weekend.