The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, today said he was "very upset" after touring makeshift settlements in the areas of Burma worst hit by Cyclone Nargis.
Ban arrived in Burma today, hoping to persuade the country's military government to accept a dramatic increase in international relief effort.
Shortly after touching down in Rangoon, he visited the country's most sacred shrine, the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, where he laid flowers in memory of victims of the cyclone.
The secretary general donated money for survivors and told trustees that he was bringing "a message of hope" for the 2.4 million people left destitute.
"I am confident we will be able to overcome this tragedy," he said. "At the same time, I hope [the] government can coordinate the flow of aid so the aid work can be done in a more systematic and organised way."
Ban said only a quarter of those needing help had been reached after a disaster the Burmese authorities have acknowledged is unprecedented.
Twenty days after the cyclone struck, Ban was taken on a four-hour helicopter tour of the Irrawaddy delta, the area hit hardest by the storm.
The disaster is believed to have killed as many as 134,000 people. The official toll stands at 77,738 dead and 55,917 missing.
After visiting the village of Kyondah, where he spoke with some of the 500 people huddled in blue tents, Ban said: "I'm very upset by what I've seen."
The settlement, which has electricity and clean water, was selected for visits by senior junta members and representatives of international aid organisations last week.
Those sheltering there had cooking pots and blankets that appeared to be new.
Ban is also due to have meetings with the regime's 11 ruling generals, including the country's leader, Than Shwe.
The first UN World Food Programme (WFP) helicopter was allowed to fly to Yangon to assist in relief operations today.
WFP officials in Bangkok confirmed that 10 flights would be allowed, beginning today, from Rangoon to the delta.
"The United Nations and all the international community stand ready to help to overcome the tragedy," Ban said.
Hardly any foreign relief workers have been allowed to work in the delta, despite having expertise that could save lives.
Foreign relief agencies say many areas of the delta, and even some close to Rangoon, the country's biggest city, have not received sufficient relief supplies.
UN official Dan Baker said Than would meet Ban at Naypyitaw tomorrow. Ban earlier said the general had refused to take his telephone calls and had not responded to two letters.
The UN says up to 2.5 million cyclone survivors face hunger, homelessness and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases, especially in the low-lying delta.
