NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Archbishop Alfred Hughes is pledging at least $50,000 from the New Orleans archdiocese for victims of the cyclone in Myanmar.

Hughes says pastors in more than 100 churches will decide whether to supplement the aid with collections as early as Sunday.

WWL-TV

Archbishop Alfred Hughes

The total will go to the overseas organization Catholic Relief Services.

By one estimate, there are 1.5 million survivors of the devastating May 3 cyclone in Myanmar.

State media say more than 23,000 people died and about 37,000 are missing. Aid organizations say the death toll could top 100,000.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans says two Catholic Relief Services envoys in Bangkok have permission to enter Myanmar. However, there also have been reports that the ruling military junta has seized incoming shipments of food and other aid and denied entry to aid workers.