Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Myanmar Saturday, has claimed at least 22,500 people, reminding the world of the 2004 Asian tsunami and putting the disaster far ahead of America's Hurricane Katrina in the carnage it has wreaked.

All of it is made worse by the fact that Myanmar is a very closed society ranking with the likes of North Korea, Belarus and Equatorial Guinea for the tightness of the tyranny of its military rulers.

Nonetheless, it is incumbent on the world to rally quickly to meet the needs of the nation's already poverty-stricken people for food, water, medical care and shelter. The area hardest hit is the city of Bogalay and the delta of the Irrawaddy River, eerily reminiscent of the experience of New Orleans and the Mississippi delta. The Myanmar relief effort is being led, appropriately, by United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon, who has risen quickly to the occasion.

The disaster has two slightly bizarre twists to it. First of all, Myanmar's military dictators were only one week away from holding a nationwide referendum on a new constitution which, in principle, would bring the country closer to democracy by 2010. The referendum has now been postponed until Myanmar can recover to some degree from the cyclone.

The other curious note, from an American point of view, is that first lady Laura Bush took to the White House podium Monday to urge Myanmar's generals to accept a U.S. disaster response team and to criticize them for giving their citizens little warning about the approaching cyclone. Her outspokenness this week echoes statements she has made on human rights violations in that country over the past eight months. Mrs. Bush has been a supporter of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Personal and international politics aside, the United States should respond quickly and sympathetically to the tragedy in Myanmar. The misery is widespread and deserves a strong humanitarian response.