Black-Syth
Comalies
- Joined
- 9 Feb 2003
- Messages
- 259
Official death toll: 59,000 as of today.
Seychelles: Unconfirmed reports of deaths -- For information on travelers, call + 248 321 676
Indonesia: 45,268
Sri Lanka: 22,493
India: 6,974
Thailand: 1,829
Somalia: 100
Burma: 90
Maldives: 67
Malaysia: 65
Tanzania: 10
Seychelles: 3
Bangladesh: 2
Kenya: 1
Aid workers around the Indian Ocean are struggling to reach millions of victims of Sunday's devastating tsunami waves.
Relief teams and supplies are pouring into the region, but have yet to reach the hardest hit and remote areas.
There are reports of desperate people fighting over aid. Aftershocks and fears of new tsunamis have sown panic among survivors in Indonesia and India.
Millions remain at risk from hunger and disease, five days after the disaster, now known to have killed 84,000 people.
The US, Australia, Japan and India have formed a coalition to provide relief.
Foreign governments have pledged more than $220m in aid - $35m of which is promised by the US.
But the UN's relief co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, said it will take another "two or three days" for the relief effort to get into full swing - by which time it may be too late for "tens of thousands of people who would like to have assistance today - or yesterday".
"We are doing very little at the moment," he admitted.
"I believe the frustration will be growing in the days and weeks ahead."
Survivors have begun to express anger in the Indonesian province of Aceh, near the epicentre of Sunday's earthquake.
"There is no food here whatsoever. We need rice. We need medicine. I haven't eaten in two days," a local woman told Reuters news agency.
Fights have broken out over food packets in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Panic
The BBC's Andrew Harding says relief supplies are barely trickling into the city where drinking water is also scarce and corpses clog the streets.
A lone airport serves the entire region and road links to many remote areas have been washed away by sea waters, he says.
Indonesia's navy has sent ships to isolated communities on the west coast of Sumatra, but the picture there remains unclear.
On Thursday, aftershocks off Indonesia triggered fresh panic among survivors in Aceh.
Officials in southern India later issued a tsunami warning, prompting many residents to flee coastal areas.
The mood began to calm again after high waves failed to materialise, reports said.
There were similar rumours in Sri Lanka where the military urged people not to panic.
Indonesia (CNN) -- The death toll from Sunday's tsunamis has jumped to more than 118,000 after Indonesia reported nearly 80,000 people were killed in that country alone.
Estimates of the death toll are continuing to rise in most areas.
Sri Lanka reports more than 24,000 dead, and at least 10,000 were killed in India. In Thailand, more than 4,000 are feared dead and dozens of deaths are reported in Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Somalia and Tanzania.
Here's another list of organizations:The Globe and Mail reports that Microsoft founder and Chairman Bill Gates, through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has pledged $3 million of his own money to aid victims of the India tsunami / earthquake disaster, equaling the aid efforts of many entire countries. Microsoft’s offices in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India are also aiding in the relief effort, and Microsoft has pledged to equal all employee donations.
Amazon.com has been collecting donations for the Red Cross, using its website technology to allow “one-click” donations (I knew that was good for more than just getting books fast). So far, the company has raised $3.5 million from 60,000 donations, or about half the $6.8 million it raised following September 11. Starbucks has also contributed $100,000, while also starting a program where it will donate an additional $2 for every pound of Sumatra, Sumatra Decaf and Aged Sumatra whole-bean coffee bought in its stores worldwide.