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Death toll: 23,000 UN warns affected areas to prepare for epidemics The death toll in southern and southeastern Asia from an earthquake off Indo_nesia and seismic sea_waves that it unleashed passed 23,000 Monday with officials in eight countries reporting deaths. The toll shot up as the military and Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka reported that nearly 11,000 people, including 70 foreigners, had been killed in Sunday’s disaster. The climbing death toll forced the United Nations to remind health agencies of countries affected by the tsunami and earthquake to prepare for potential epidemics. At least 6,280 people were reported killed in southern India with more victims expected, officials said. Among them were some 3,000 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the epicenter of the quake, and 2,790 in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, according to police. In Indonesia more than 4,725 people were killed as the country took the full force of the huge earthquake and seismic waves that swallowed entire coastal villages. Nearly 840 people were killed and more than 7,200 injured by seismic waves in southern Thailand, including foreign tourists at famous seaside resorts, the interior ministry said. In Malaysia 51 people, including many elderly and children, were killed, officials said. At least two British tourists and 41 others were killed while another 63 were missing in the tourist paradise of the Maldives, officials said. An international aid agency said at least 30 people were killed in Myanmar and the toll was expected to rise substantially. In Bangladesh a father and child were killed after a tourist boat capsized from large waves, local officials said. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake registered west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra measured 9.0 on the Richter scale. Because of the sheer scale of the tragedy, aid agencies around the world rushed staff, equipment and money to southern Asia to help survivors of the huge waves that pummeled and swamped coastal communities in at least six countries on Sunday. Worst disaster in recent history “This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas . . . so many vulnerable communities,” the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, told CNN. “The longer-term effects may be as devastating as . . . the tsunami itself,” said Egeland. “Many more people are now affected by polluted drinking water. We could have epidemics within a few days unless we get health systems up and running. “Many people will have [had] their livelihoods, their whole future destroyed in a few seconds.” Experts said the top five issues to be dealt with were water, sanitation, food, shelter and health. Rotting bodies “We’ve had reports already from the south of India of bodies rotting where they have fallen and that will immediately affect the water supply especially for the most impoverished people,” said a Christian Aid emergency officer, Dominic Nutt. Some affected areas have had communications cut. Others are so remote it is impossible to know the extent of the damage. “This is a massive humanitarian disaster and the communications are so bad we still don’t know the full scale of it. Unless we get aid quickly to the people many more could die,” said Phil Esmond, head of Oxfam in Sri Lanka. The Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was seeking an immediate $6.5 million for emergency aid funding. “This is a preliminary appeal. It will be revised after exact needs are evaluated,” said Simon Missiri, head of the federation’s Asia Pacific department. Earlier, the federation released $870,000 from its disaster relief emergency fund to get assistance moving to the region. “The biggest health challenges we face is the spread of waterborne diseases, particularly malaria and diarrhea, as well as respiratory tract infections,” said the Red Cross Federation’s senior health officer, Hakan Sandbladh. The federation said it would send an assessment and coordination team to Sri Lanka, and had on standby several emergency response units specialized in water and sanitation as well as field hospitals. The United States said it would offer “all appropriate assistance” to Asian countries, with some aid already on its way to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. “We’re prepared to be very responsive,” said the US State Department spokesman, Noel Clay. The European Union pledged an initial 3 million euros ($4 million) and the local news agency Belga said Belgium had allocated its own 500,000 euros in emergency aid to be distributed by Red Cross bodies and the EU. Britain said it had offered what it called practical help. “What we don’t know is the number of people who’ve been displaced, and what infrastructure has been affected. That’s the critical point,” said Titon Mitra, emergency response director for the CARE aid agency in Geneva. --AFP, Reuters http://www.manilatimes.net/national...041228top1.html

They say this quake was so strong it slightly disrupted the rotation of the earth. I pray for the lives of everyone who was affected by this cataclysmic disaster.

Last edited by pyro264jb on Dec-30-2004 at 18:52