|
World's biggest aid operation for devastated Asian countries
2 hours, 7 minutes ago
_Science - AFP
GENEVA (AFP) - The world's biggest-ever aid operation got into gear to help Asian countries stricken by tsunamis that smashed coastal towns and left misery and the risk of disease in their wake.
AFP Photo
AP Photo
Slideshow: Indonesia Quake Sparks Fatal Tidal Waves
Surf in Secret
Cover your tracks while online by knowing how 'they' watch you, and by keeping email private.
_
Foreign doctors and relief workers faced vast devastation, with the latest death tolls across the region totalling more than 55,000.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed for 44 million dollars in immediate aid for victims.
"We face a huge challenge due to the vast area affected," Markku Niskala, secretary general of the organisation, said in Geneva, adding: "We haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg yet."
The UNHCR said the situation was "so enormous and shocking" that it opened stockpiles of shelters, matting, clothing and cooking materials in Sri Lanka, where nearly 18,000 were killed and 200,000 were homeless.
"Our supplies are usually for displaced people, but this is an emergency and the local population needs help right now," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said in Geneva.
Aid planes from China, Denmark, France, India and Russia delivered tonnes of humanitarian relief and medical staff to the island state.
In nearby India, where more than 8,500 were known to have died, the local Red Cross issued an appeal for food, clothes, tarpaulins and kitchen utensils, while the government authorised immediate spending worth 114 million dollars.
Aid workers warned of a health crisis as Indian camps became overpacked with people in need of food, water and shelter and diarrhoeal disease started to spread.
A UNICEF (news - web sites) official inspecting the situation in southern India, Lizette Burgers, said: "Getting clean water to people in the camps is critical at this point to head off the spread of disease."
Other countries struggling with smashed infrastructure and desperate populations were Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Indonesia said its death toll was more than 27,000 -- the worst of any of the countries hit. Remote areas there, particularly the Aceh region closest to the undersea quake that triggered the tsunamis, were in danger of suffering further deaths if aid was not delivered within days.
"We can assume after a tidal wave of that kind that dengue fever and diarrhoea will spread," said Hadi Kuswoyo of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Jakarta.
At UN headquarters in New York, Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters that relief operations would be the biggest in history.
"There are thousands of dead people, and there are tens of thousands of dead animals. The people should be buried and the animals should be destroyed and disposed of before they infect the drinking water. It's a massive operation," he said.
Asian countries that escaped the tsunami disaster were quick to provide aid. Japan provided 40 million dollars for emergency food, medicine and shelter while Singapore and the Philippines dispatched medical teams to Thailand and Indonesia.
China provided 2.6 million dollars in aid for India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
_
The Asian Development Bank said it had offered immediate assistance to several of the countries ravaged. ADB president Tadao Chino said: "What is clear is that this is a massive tragedy that has exacted a terrible human cost."
A Hong Kong telephone tycoon, Li Ka-shing, pledged three million US dollars towards aid for victims and rebuilding because he was "saddened by the huge suffering caused by the disaster."
Two Australian aircraft loaded with aid and medical teams arrived in Indonesia, with another two scheduled to follow Wednesday.
An aircraft from Australian domestic airline Virgin Blue was due to fly to the Thailand's badly damaged resort island of Phuket, where some of the estimated 7,000 Australians on vacation there were listed as missing.
European states rushed aid to the region as soon as the scale of the disaster became known, and several announced increases to aid money.
France's foreign minister, Michel Barnier, was on one of four aid flights sent from Paris. They were headed to Sri Lanka and Thailand with tonnes of relief supplies, medical teams and rescue specialists.
Germany also dispatched teams of relief experts to Sri Lanka and Thailand, donated two million euros (three million dollars) of emergency aid to the countries affected and promised long-term reconstruction assistance.
A plane from Britain carrying tents and plastic sheets was additionally headed for Colombo.
Another three were on their way to Sri Lanka and Indonesia from Belgium.
Those and other European countries contributed to an EU pledge of emergency aid. The bloc has already released three million euros and on Tuesday announced it would bring further aid to 50 million euros.
The European Commission (news - web sites) suggested an international donors' conference to coordinate efforts.
"The problem is not the funding, the funding will be there. The real problem will be how to spend it in the best way possible," EU aid commissioner Louis Michel said.
In Washington, the US government pledged nearly 15 million dollars in immediate aid and promised more to come.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said President George W. Bush (news - web sites) had written to the heads of state of the affected countries "to extend his deepest condolences to the families of those that were lost."
Canada pledged additional funds, bringing its total assistance to 3.2 million US dollars.
In addition to government efforts, non-governmental organizations and private firms in many countries were launching urgent appeals for funds from the public.
-Rudey
|