A look at Myanmar's cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta

Overview of the Irrawaddy Delta, the region of Myanmar hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis:

THE DEATH TOLL: Of the 22,000 dead so far, as many as 21,793 were from the Irrawaddy delta. Another 40,695 of the 41,000 missing also came from the region.

THE GEOGRAPHY: Located on the tip of the country's western coast, the Irrawaddy delta is a low-lying region where as many as 6 million people live. An additional 6.5 million people live in Yangon, the country's former capital, located on the edge of the delta. The mighty Irrawaddy River branches out into numerous tributaries to form the delta, which is also criss-crossed by canals and wetlands.

THE ECONOMY: The fertile region of the Irrawaddy Delta is considered the country's rice bowl, where mangrove forests long ago were converted into paddy fields. Once the world's top rice producer, the country produced only about 40,000 tons for export last year.

Rice production plummeted after Myanmar's military regime nationalized agriculture following the 1962 military takeover, forcing farmers to sell to the state at below-market prices. Production improved after rice growing and trading was liberalized in the 1990s, but never reached anywhere near earlier highs.