The leader of Burma's self-declared government in exile said detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has survived the cyclone that laid ruin to wide swaths of the Southeast Asian country.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi walks with friends and family members in Rangoon in this 2002 file photo. (David Longstreath/Associated Press)Burmese prime minister-in-exile Sein Win told reporters in Washington that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy activist, who has been under house arrest or in prison for much of the past 18 years, was unharmed by Cyclone Nargis.

But Win, who is a cousin of Suu Kyi, said his organization had been told the roof of her house was ripped off by high winds in the storm, which he referred to as a "tsunami of death."

"We know she survived," Win said. "You cannot go to see her or talk to her, [but] if something happened to Aung Sun Suu Kyi, we will know."

Earlier this week, the Canadian government granted honorary citizenship to Suu Kyi in recognition of her tireless struggle for human rights and democracy in her homeland.

As the international community struggles to convince the country's reclusive, xenophobic generals to allow relief workers and aid into the country, diplomats and aid agencies warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000.

On Friday, the UN World Food Program said it would resume aid flights into Burma on Saturday after suspending them earlier Friday, saying the military government was seizing supplies intended for 1.5 million cyclone survivors.

Win called on China, Burma's closest foreign ally, to put pressure on the junta leaders to allow international aid and workers to enter the country without further delay.

”'Let the relief mission come in and start their work' — that’s all China has to say to make it happen," Win said.

China and Russia have voiced strong opposition to a proposed UN Security Council resolution compelling Burma, also known as Myanmar, to accept outside aid.

Meanwhile on Friday, U.S. officials said the junta agreed to allow a single U.S. cargo aircraft to bring in relief supplies.

“We need hundreds of planeloads, not one planeload,” Win said.