Global storm activity of 2008 from of snow during a two-day period. The poor conditions forced the closure of Interstate 90 in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota. On May 8, dust storms hit Astana in Kazakhstan. 21 people had died in a rural Mongolian blizzard. Parts of the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia were also affected. The Burmese government said that over 60,000 people are dead or missing and about 1,000,000 are homeless. The American embassy to Burma in the area has estimated that about 100,000 died when Cyclone Nargis hit coastal Myanmar on May 8 and 9, 2008. Fifty-four people, including
Cyclone Giri Cyclone Nargis which struck the Irrawaddy Delta region as a low-end Category 4 equivalent in May 2008. However, according to the International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, substantial weakening had taken place within the hours before landfall; they estimated that Cyclone Giri struck the coastline with winds of 175 km/h (110 mph ). Once overland, the cyclone rapidly decayed as convection dissipated. Despite having estimated winds of 150 km/h (90 mph ), the JTWC issued their final advisory on Giri just six hours after landfall. By early October 23, only scattered bursts of convection remained around the