South Asia Death Toll Exceeds 55,000
Aid agencies mounted what UN officials said would be the world's biggest relief effort after explosive quake-sparked tidal waves led to the deaths of over 55,000--a toll that officials expect to rise further.
Aid agencies mounted what UN officials said would be the world's biggest relief effort after explosive quake-sparked tidal waves led to the deaths of over 55,000--a toll that officials expect to rise further. Meanwhile, thousands of people are still missing, and millions remain homeless.
"This is unprecedented," said Yvette Stevens, an emergency relief coordinator of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Also joining the massive relief effort are a number of Christian organizations including Action by Churches Together (ACT), Church World Service (CWS), Norwegian Church Aid, Christian Children's Fund Inc (CCF), World Vision International (WVI), New Directions International (NDI), Youth for Christ (YFC), Gospel for Asia (GFA), Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and the International Mission Board (IMB).
A “ton of relief agencies” will be streaming into devastated areas of Sri Lanka and India, which have appealed for international aid, reported a Southern Baptist relief coordinator in Asia.
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While confirming Southern Baptist missionary families in the region had escaped the initial disaster, IMB relief specialists began contacting regional governments, U.N. disaster officials and other agencies about the best ways to respond – immediately and over the long term.
Many agencies have also been combining their efforts for faster more effective relief efforts. According to the Rev. Kristin Sachen of UMCOR, "We will be working with Church World Service in Indonesia and the Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in India, as well as with other agencies."
"We know from experience that a coordinated response is both the fastest and the most effective," Sachen said. On Tuesday, UMCOR issued an urgent appeal for donations to assist thousands of Southeast and Southern Asians survivors.
According to the latest reports, rescuers uncovered thousands of bodies in Sri Lanka, bringing the island nation's toll to 18,706. Meanwhile land mines in the war-torn country were uprooted by tidal waves and flooding, threatening aid workers and survivors attempting to return to what's left of their homes.
About 19,000 were killed in Indonesia, more than 4,000 in India and more than 1,500 in Thailand. Indonesia's vice president estimated his country had as many as 25,000 victims. Scores of people also were killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.
UN Undersecretary Jan Egeland, who is in charge of emergency relief coordination said the disaster could be history's costliest, with "many billions of dollars" of damage.
Hundreds of thousands have lost everything, and millions face a hazardous future because of polluted drinking water and a lack of health services, he said.
News agencies say Sunday's tsunami—triggered by the massive 9.0 magnitude quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra—was the deadliest of its kind since the one that devastated the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1755 and killed an estimated 60,000 people.
According to AP, officials in Thailand and Indonesia conceded that immediate public warnings of gigantic waves could have saved lives. The only known warning issued by Thai authorities reached resort operators when it was too late. The waves hit Sri Lanka and India more than two hours after the quake.
