This aerial view shows a devastated town, with many roofs missing, in the Irrawaddy Delta region, Burma, 06 May 2008

As the death toll in Burma from Cyclone Nargis climbs, the United Nations says tens of thousands of survivors from last week's storm could die because they are not getting emergency aid.

Burma announced Tuesday that the death toll has passed 34,000. The United Nations estimates the death toll could be as high as 100,000.

The European Commission announced Tuesday that Burma has agreed to let the European Union's top aid official, Louis Michel, enter the country to seek better access for international aid workers and relief supplies.

Elizabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN Organization for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, said Tuesday that at least 1.5 million people are severely affected by the disaster, but only about one-third of those are getting aid.

The World Health Organization has warned that, because of poor sanitary conditions, disease could break out.

Burma's military rulers have so far rejected pressure to allow international workers into the country to help distribute aid. UN officials say supplies are piling up at the airport, waiting to be delivered to cyclone victims.

In comments carried today in the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper, Vice Admiral Soe Thein said Burma does not yet need skilled relief workers. He said the needs of the people affected by Cyclone Nargis "have been fulfilled" as much as possible.

U.S. and Burmese military personnel unloading U.S. aid supplies at Rangoon International Airport, 12 May 2008

The first U.S. aid flight to Burma arrived Monday, and a second flight arrived Tuesday.

But a White House spokeswoman said the amount of aid getting through is, in her words, "a drop in the bucket" compared to what is needed. A U.S. Defense Department spokesman said a U.S. ship is waiting in international waters, off the Burmese coast, with 14,000 containers of fresh water to deliver.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, and Reuters.