Nearly half of the number of dead and missing in Burma following cyclone Nargis are likely to be children, according to Save the Children officials in Burma.

Andrew Kirkwood, the Save the Children country director, said the death toll and missing may include about 40 percent children because of their greater vulnerability during the storm and subsequent flooding.

Homeless children whose homes were destroyed in last weekend's devastating cyclone look on while taking shelter in a monastery in Kaw Hmu village, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Rangoon. (Photo: AP)

The cyclone also destroyed “more than three thousand primary schools,” he said, “so more than 500,000 children will not be able to continue their education for some time to come.”

Save the Children along with MSF-Holland and CARE have begun distributing food and shelter items to people in affected areas around Rangoon.

They said they will try to go by boat to Laputta Township on Thursday and Hainggyi in the far west where thousands of people are still isolated and cut off from aid.

“It is a race against time, and now our priority has to be those who are left. We urgently need help to be able to reach the surviving children and families and deliver what we know they need,” said Kirkwood.

Kirkwood said he expects the death toll will rise significantly if food, shelter and medicine don’t reach survivors soon.

The military regime continued to place obstacles to international humanitarian aid distribution within the country by delaying visa approvals to UN and other international teams outside the country.

The United Nations, the US, Australia and many other nations have made urgent requests for visas for their aid personnel. Only a few aid groups have successfully entered the country as of Thursday.

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appealed on Wednesday, saying, "Forget politics, forget the military dictatorship, let's just get aid and assistance through to people who are suffering and dying as we speak."

The UN estimates hundreds of thousands have been left homeless and millions are without food and water.

Kirkwood said, “Bodies are floating in rivers and people are absolutely desperate for water and food. In fact, security in the areas is becoming a problem as people are so desperate that they are starting to attack people who have even small amounts of food.”