December 29, 2004
CNN

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- The latest death toll from the Asian tsunami has increased to more than 67,000 as relief workers and supplies begin to reach some of the most devastated areas.

The dramatic rise of the number of deaths came Wednesday as officials were finally able to reach remote regions -- like Indonesia's Aceh province, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Maldives.

Nearly half of those deaths were reported in Indonesia, the nearest land mass to Sunday's undersea earthquake that triggered the deadly waves and flooding in about a dozen countries, from Thailand to East Africa.

Four days after the quake, Indonesian authorities said they had found mass destruction in Aceh. The capital of Banda Aceh, which was closest to epicenter of the quake, was described as largely destroyed.

"The center of Banda Aceh has been absolutely devastated," said CNN's Mike Chinoy from the provincial capital.

"There are still bodies lying in the street."

Indonesia's Health Ministry confirmed Wednesday that the country's death toll had risen to 32,836, with another 1,240 people still missing.

In Sri Lanka, authorities increased the death toll in that country to 23,015 after every structure along the southern coast was damaged or swept away.

The number of deaths in all affected countries now stands at 67,739.

Other nations are continuing to report more casualties from the killer waves, spawned by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the western-most portion of the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra.

UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said as many as one-third of the victims may be children, because children are "the least able to withstand the flooding or holding on."

In India, the government news agency said at least 10,000 Indians were killed and more bodies were being recovered.

Along India's southeastern coast, thousands of fishermen who were at sea when the waves thundered ashore have not returned.

Along the coast, brick foundations were all that remained of village homes.

In Tamil Nadu state, sources said 7,000 people were dead, and estimates put the death toll at 3,000 on the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, where dozens of aftershocks were centered.

In Thailand, officials confirmed 1,574 deaths, most of them are believed to have been in the low-lying coastal province of Phang Na.

The country's health ministry said for every Thai resident killed in the disaster, two tourists perished.

While officials fear hundreds of tourists may have died, so far at least 64 deaths have been confirmed. Hospital workers and witnesses report hundreds of bodies washing in from the sea.

Some of Thailand's smaller vacation islands were completely swallowed by the water, said Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Khun Poom Jensen, the 21-year-old autistic grandson of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was among those killed.

In all, at least 11 countries -- including Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Tanzania -- were affected by the monstrous waves.

With the death count rising, the scale of the devastation is overwhelming.

"I've not experienced anything like this in my 30 years in the relief and emergency business," said Scott Faiia, CARE's country director for Sri Lanka.

Ronen Sen, India's ambassador to the United States, told CNN that this disaster is "of a magnitude which we have not witnessed earlier."

In Sri Lanka, a spokesman for President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, said the death and destruction was causing "a huge situation."

"There are instances where bodies are decomposing, and they're being photographed and fingerprinted" before being taken to mass graves, said Harim Peiris."

"And there are instances where entire families have been wiped out."

There is also concern over disease from corpses, forcing health officials in Sri Lanka to order mass burials before the bodies have been identified by family members.

As the enormous impact of the disaster takes hold, one of the world's largest relief efforts is gaining momentum. Countries and aid organizations around the world are making donations of funding, supplies and personnel to the ravaged areas.

International health and relief organizations have emphasized that getting clean water to survivors is an absolute priority.

The United States is offering a total of $35 million, followed by Japan with $30 million. Australia has now pledged $27 million, Saudi Arabia $10 million and Germany $2.7 million.

A number of other countries also are reportedly planning to participate in the relief effort.

Meanwhile, relief workers and supplies have started to arrive in Indonesia's Aceh province.

UNICEF's John Budd told CNN his agency was sending 200,000 emergency kits to Aceh, but more was needed. "Six to eight weeks of emergency funding -- tens of millions in Aceh to keep them alive -- and then long term to rebuild infrastructure," he said.

Complicating the relief efforts in Aceh is an armed separatist movement that has kept the region off-limits to aid groups and journalists for years. The Indonesian government, however, eased those restrictions under the circumstances.

-- CNN Correspondents Hugh Riminton in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Satinder Bindra in Matara, Sri Lanka; Atika Shubert and Mike Chenoy in Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Aneesh Raman and Matthew Chance near Phuket, Thailand; and Suhasini Haidar in Chennai, India; and Journalist Iqbal Athas in Sri Lanka contributed to this report

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html