Burma's state media say the death toll from cyclone Nargis has reached almost 78-thousand and that another 56-thousand people are missing. The previous official death toll was 43-thousand. State television announced the huge increase (Friday), two weeks after the disaster. Burma's secretive military regime has denied access into the country to most international aid. Four U.S. Navy ships have been waiting in international waters off Burma's coast for several days, ready to deliver fresh water, medicine and other supplies desperately needed by survivors. The top United Nations official for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, is traveling to Burma on Sunday to try to convince its leaders to grant access to more aid and to significantly step up efforts to help survivors. The storm has affected an estimated two-and-a-half million people and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says up to 40 percent of the storm's victims are children.