The death toll from a cyclone that devastated parts of Myanmar over the weekend has leapt to more 22 000 with another 41 000 missing in one of Asia's worst natural disasters.

Below follows a list of major storms in the past two decades:

April 1991, Bangladesh: Cyclone followed by massive flooding kills some 138 000 people.

November 1991, Philippines: Cyclone Thelma kills more than 6000.

October-November 1998, Central America: Hurricane Mitch kills over 9000 people, with Honduras and Nicaragua the worst hit countries.

October 1999, India: A cyclone kills at least 10 000 people in the eastern state of Orissa.

September 2004, Haiti: Tropical storm Jeanne kills more than 2000 people.

August 2005, United States: Hurricane Katrina leaves more than 1500 people dead in southern states, notably hitting the city of New Orleans.

November 2007, Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr kills over 4400 people.