South Asia Death Toll Surpasses 76,700
Thousands of bodies were found in the devastated west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island Wednesday, increasing the death toll across 12 nations to more than 76,700.
Thousands of bodies were found in the devastated west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island Wednesday, increasing the death toll across 12 nations to more than 76,700. Meanwhile, the world's biggest-ever relief operation stuttered into life against enormous odds in response to this week's quake-tsunami catastrophe.
Three days after Sunday's devastating earthquake and tsunami, cargo planes touched down with aid today, bearing everything from lentils to water purifiers to help survivors facing the threat of epidemic, reported the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the first military teams reached the devastated fishing town of Meulaboh on Sumatra's coast and across the coast they found thousands of bodies, bringing Indonesia's toll to 45,268, with 1,240 reported missing, according to the Health Ministry's official count. That toll was likely to rise, AP reported, as one official on Tuesday estimated that as many as 10,000 people were dead in Meulaboh alone.
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In Sri Lanka more than 22,400 people were listed dead, and close to 7,000 in India—with 8,000 missing and feared dead. Thailand put its toll at more than 1,600. A total of more than 300 were also killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya.
The international Red Cross warned that the toll could eventually surpass 100,000.
In Sri Lanka's second largest city, the hard-hit southern resort of Galle, refugees from ravaged homes crowded into churches, Buddhist temples and mosques, and food supplies were short.
"Even those people who were not affected can't get food. Nothing is available," Father Raja Perera of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church told AP.
Global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) reports that the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, which started responding to the emergency immediately after the massive sea surge swamped the country's coast lines, has mobilized all its staff and hundreds of church volunteers to assist those who survived and are now in need of assistance. Assessment teams report that in Muttur 13 camps have been established for people displaced by the tidal waves. NCCSL has been providing people food from a central cooking place as a temporary solution. The teams report that medical needs are acute and that medical teams have been sent to Muttur and Batti. Other needs include roofing materials, and food items (dry rations).
"The challenges these families face in the coming weeks and months are very real," said Kathryn Wolford, moderator of the executive committee of ACT International and president of one of its members, US-based Lutheran World Relief.
"Decaying bodies, polluted water sources, destroyed sanitation systems and, in some cases, having lost literally everything will make day-to-day existence every bit as challenging as surviving the tsunamis themselves," she continued.
AP reported Wednesday that four relief planes arrived in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, bringing a surgical hospital from Finland, a water purification plant from Germany, doctors and medicine from Japan and aid workers from Britain.
Meanwhile, trucks fanned out across the island nation to deliver bandages, antibiotics, tents, blankets and other supplies to the hardest hit areas, the southern and eastern coast. A dozen trucks left the U.N. World Food Program depot in Colombo on Tuesday. The military said a fleet of 64 trucks packed with rice, sugar, tents and other essentials entered Tamil areas Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, President Bush announced that the United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and tsunamis.
"We will prevail over this destruction," Bush said in his first comments on Sunday's disaster.
As donations come in from all parts of the globe, the governments of the United States, Australia and Japan have pledged a combined $100 million for recovery efforts.
