REUTERS, BANGKOK - Nearly 4,000 people were killed and thousands were missing in two of Myanmar's devastated cyclone regions, state television reported on Monday, a dramatic increase in the toll from Saturday's storm.

Earlier official reports put the death toll at 351, but the number of casualties had been expected to rise as authorities made contact with hard-hit islands and villages in the Irrawaddy delta, the country's rice bowl.

Food and fuel prices soared in Yangon on Monday as aid agencies scrambled to deliver emergency supplies and assess the damage from Cyclone Nargis after it slammed into the delta region.

The military, which has ruled for 46 years and is shunned by the West, has not issued an appeal for help since the Category 3 storm packing winds of 190 kph (120 mph).

In Yangon, many roofs were ripped off even sturdy buildings, suggesting damage would be severe in the shanty towns that lie on the outskirts of the city of 5 million people.

Michael Annear, regional disaster chief for the International Red Cross, said emergency supplies were being handed out from stockpiles in Myanmar, but more was needed.