ShelterBox, the grassroots disaster relief organization set up by UK Rotary members, is getting ready to send another 1,000 ShelterBoxes to Yangon on Wednesday destined to help survivors of cyclone-ravaged Burma.

The Cornish-based charity have had four specially trained volunteers on the ground since last Thursday (May 8) and a total of 400 boxes have already been delivered to cyclone victims.

The boxes were transported by local authorities to the Delta region using trucks and boats and tents were set up with the help of local fire services trained by the ShelterBox response team in Yangon.

The new shipment of 1,000 boxes has been dispatched from the ShelterBox headquarters in Cornwall and will leave Birmingham Airport on Wednesday.

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox founder and Rotary club member, said: "Our team of volunteers are working in cooperation with local groups in Myanmar to line up transportation and determine where the shelters will do the most good amid the massive devastation.

"We have received tremendous support from Rotarians and would like to extend our thanks. Without the support of our Rotary friends we would not be able to carry out this essential work."

Up to 100,000 people are estimated to have died in the cyclone and 70,000 people are still missing, and the destruction of entire communities has left tens of thousands of people homeless.

Each ShelterBox container provides a tent, blankets, a multi-fuelled stove, a water purification kit, tools and other necessities to help a family of 10 survive for six months. Some containers carried two 10-person tents, doubling the shelter capacity.

ShelterBox started in 2001 as a modest project by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, England, and quickly garnered support among Rotary clubs worldwide.

To date ShelterBox has raised £15.5m and delivered aid to 40 countries in response to more than 70 disasters.

Each ShelterBox container costs an estimated £540 to sponsor, and Rotary clubs provide more than half of the charity's funding.