Global tsunami relief effort gathers speed
January 03, 2005 Edition 1
Banda Aceh: As rescuers conceded that there was little chance of finding more survivors from the disastrous earthquake-triggered tsunami that killed about 150 000 people from Indonesia to Somalia, an Indonesian fisherman trapped under his boat was found alive, but severely dehydrated, yesterday.
The discovery of Tengku Sofyan, 24, who was admitted to hospital in Banda Aceh on Indonesia's Sumatra island, came as the worldwide focus on the catastrophe shifted to relief as hopes of finding more survivors in the far-flung disaster zone faded.
Rescue teams honed in on the epicentre of the devastation in Sumatra, where United States military helicopters flew in biscuits, energy drinks and instant noodles to hungry, homeless villagers.
The operation was part of a global $2 billion (R11.5 billion) effort announced before an international donors' conference scheduled for the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Thursday.
The relief efforts drove deeper into the sprawling disaster zone: American pilots had some of the first glimpses of wrecked Sumatran coastal villages such as Kuede Teunom, where threadbare survivors grabbed at bottles of water dropped from helicopters.
Reporters were given a look at the wiped-out village of Malacca, on the Indian island of Car Nicobar, where the only structure standing was a statue of independence leader Mohandas Gandhi.
Lamsar Sipahutar, the head of the search team in Indonesia, where the death toll is expected to reach 100 000, said: "There is little chance of finding survivors after seven days. We are about to stop the search-and-rescue operations. If you survived the earthquake, you were probably killed by tsunami."
In India, which suffered more than 9 000 deaths, officials insisted there was still hope for survivors, but the search was essentially over in Tamil Nadu state, the southern region which bore the brunt of the country's sea surge.
The official tally of dead from the catastrophe surpassed 126 000. But with tens of thousands still missing and presumed dead, United Nations officials said they expected the actual toll would reach 150 000, although the exact tally would probably never be known. Five million people have been left homeless by the waves.
The scope of the relief effort - like the disaster - was tremendous.
The American military was mounting its largest operation in southern Asia since the Vietnam War, delivering supplies from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln stationed off Sumatra, and sending a flotilla of marines and water purifying equipment to Sri Lanka and to the Maldives.
Four Indonesian navy frigates loaded with supplies arrived off the coast of the fishing village of Meulaboh, one of Aceh's worst-hit spots. About half the town of 40 000 was destroyed.
Health officials in the disaster zone said no medical crisis had yet emerged, although getting clean water and sanitation to hard-hit areas was a priority to prevent outbreaks of disease.
Some villagers on the Nicobar islands, and on the devastated Andaman islands, said they had still not received any outside help, despite the Indian government's claims that aid was reaching all affected sites.
Officials said most of the island's jetties had been destroyed, making it difficult for boats to dock. - Sapa-AP
