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http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/w148...XY-DC-MDF809510_RTRIDSP_1_NEWS-QUAKE-DC.jpgBy Tomi Soetjipto and Dean Yates
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - U.S. Navy helicopters dropped aid to clamoring crowds in tsunami-hit Indonesian villages Sunday but were unable to land a full week after the waves washed away entire towns around the Indian Ocean.
Seven days after a massive undersea quake off Sumatra triggered the giant waves, a multinational force of aid workers, military aircraft and navy ships battled nightmarish logistical obstacles to deliver aid to millions.
Aid pledges reached $2 billion, but the United Nations said it would take days to reach some of the survivors and predicted the death toll, now at 127,000, would rise to 150,000.
Health authorities say outbreaks of disease could kill tens of thousands more.
“You have serious water-carrying diseases such as dysentery as a ticking time bomb,” said Jorgen Poulsen, chief of the Danish Red Cross in Banda Aceh. “We hope we can avoid cholera. The problem is we have already seen people vomiting in town.”
After an initial lax response from wealthy countries, the new year brought a generous about-turn with contributions doubling in a 24-hour period. Washington increased its pledge ten-fold to $350 million, while Japan vowed half a billion dollars.
The disaster has touched all corners of the globe – 40 countries lost nationals in addition to the 13 countries hit by the tsunami. The unprecedented relief effort, along with the heart-rending stories of loss, rescue and survival, have brought together a world divided over Iraq and terrorism.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, calling the cataclysm the “largest disaster we have had to deal with,” said reconstruction would probably take five to 10 years. He planned to visit Indonesia, the hardest-hit country, on Thursday and would probably issue a world appeal for more relief from there, officials said.
more here.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - U.S. Navy helicopters dropped aid to clamoring crowds in tsunami-hit Indonesian villages Sunday but were unable to land a full week after the waves washed away entire towns around the Indian Ocean.
Seven days after a massive undersea quake off Sumatra triggered the giant waves, a multinational force of aid workers, military aircraft and navy ships battled nightmarish logistical obstacles to deliver aid to millions.
Aid pledges reached $2 billion, but the United Nations said it would take days to reach some of the survivors and predicted the death toll, now at 127,000, would rise to 150,000.
Health authorities say outbreaks of disease could kill tens of thousands more.
“You have serious water-carrying diseases such as dysentery as a ticking time bomb,” said Jorgen Poulsen, chief of the Danish Red Cross in Banda Aceh. “We hope we can avoid cholera. The problem is we have already seen people vomiting in town.”
After an initial lax response from wealthy countries, the new year brought a generous about-turn with contributions doubling in a 24-hour period. Washington increased its pledge ten-fold to $350 million, while Japan vowed half a billion dollars.
The disaster has touched all corners of the globe – 40 countries lost nationals in addition to the 13 countries hit by the tsunami. The unprecedented relief effort, along with the heart-rending stories of loss, rescue and survival, have brought together a world divided over Iraq and terrorism.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, calling the cataclysm the “largest disaster we have had to deal with,” said reconstruction would probably take five to 10 years. He planned to visit Indonesia, the hardest-hit country, on Thursday and would probably issue a world appeal for more relief from there, officials said.
more here.