Cyclone Nargis genocide since the Burmese government had deliberately denied storm victims aid, allowing for hundreds of thousands to potentially die from starvation, exposure, and disease. On 16 May 2008, the Burmese UN ambassador accused France of deploying a warship to the Burmese coast. The French UN ambassador denied the LHD "Mistral" was a warship, and claimed Myanmar's refusal to allow increased aid into the country "could lead to a true crime against humanity." France stated the ship in question was carrying 1,500 tons of relief supplies. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused the ruling junta of allowing the disaster to grow
Cyclone Nargis from Cyclone Sidr in the previous year and flooding earlier in the year, and a direct strike from Nargis would have resulted in destroyed crops due to strong winds. The United Nations estimated that 1.5 million people were "severely affected" by this cyclone. Estimates of the people missing were 53,836, with 84,537 confirmed dead. Some NGOs estimated that the final death toll would be over 100,000. At least 10,000 people were reported to have perished in the delta town of Bogale alone. Nargis was the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide since the Typhoon Nina in 1975, which killed at least 229,000