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A news broadcast on the state-run station said Tuesday that 22,464 people had been confirmed dead after Cyclone Nargis. The broadcast added that 41,000 more were missing.

The U.N. estimated up to a million could be homeless.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, quoting officials, reported a death toll of 10,000 alone in the township of Bogalay, where bodies were being dumped into the river.

CNN’s Dan Rivers, the first Western journalist in Bogalay, said destroyed homes could be seen for 30 kilometer stretches.

In one area only four homes remained from a total of 369.

Rivers said people were now sheltering under canvas covers. They had little food bar a small amount of eggs and rice. The area’s rice had been destroyed, leaving Bogalay with a five-day supply. Water pumps were also ruined, and fuel was scarce. Video Watch family huddle in ruined home »

Rivers had seen the army and Red Cross in the area, but the weather remained awful and conditions were miserable.

The aftermath has pushed Myanmar’s normally secretive ruling military junta to ask for aid and release details of the devastation. However, the U.N. said its aid workers were still waiting for visas to enter the country. It, the Red Cross and other aid organizations have been gathering supplies to ship to the country.

U.S. President George Bush Tuesday called on the military junta to allow it to help with disaster assistance.

Bush, who made the comments while signing legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Myanmar democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, said the U.S. was ready to “come and help.”

“The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more,” Bush said.

“We are prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, and help stabilize the situation. But in order to do so, the military Junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country.”

The U.S. Navy is making preparations to respond to any requests for assistance, U.S. military officials told CNN. The Navy has calculated it would take its nearest ships four days sailing time to get to the affected area.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino later seemed to back away from Bush’s hard line over the access of assessment teams.

Asked if the United States would refuse to help Myanmar if U.S. teams were not allowed to evaluate the situation, she said: “The president and Mrs. Bush have set the standard of putting aside political differences and getting help to people in need. And that’s exactly what we would do here.”

The problem thus far, she said, was that Washington had “not heard back from the government [of Myanmar] and we would … hope to hear from them soon.”

Maung Maung Swe, Myanmar’s social welfare minister, earlier told reporters that the country needed aid now, The Associated Press reported.

“Instead of waiting for figures on casualties and damage, it will be practical to send humanitarian aid to victims as soon as possible,” Swe said.

He revealed that that 95 percent of the homes in Bogalay — a city of 190,000 — had been destroyed, AFP reported. Video Watch how the cyclone crippled Yangon »

“Many people were killed in a 12-foot tidal wave,” Swe said.