MADRAS, 31 December 2004 — The misery of the tsunami disaster survivors in Asia deepened yesterday as the body count jumped above the dreaded 100,000 mark.
The discovery of nearly 28,000 newly confirmed dead in remote parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island brought the overall death toll to more than 125,000, and experts fear the number of confirmed deaths will continue to rise. The east coast of India witnessed panic yesterday with fear of fresh waves of tsunamis.
Panic set in when the federal government in New Delhi issued an alert on the possibilities of fresh seismic activities that could generate another round of tsunamis. Rescue and relief operations that have been going on for the last three days were disrupted as the panic-stricken people scrambled to safer areas.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was to visit Nagapattinam town in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which is one of the worst affected, managed only an aerial survey of the area following the tsunami alert.
In Tamil Nadu, the toll crossed the 7,000 mark with the discovery of more bodies, which were promptly given mass burials, with relief workers working overtime digging graves, and braving the stench of the decomposed bodies.
The archipelago of Andaman and Nicorbar Islands continued to struggle, with the toll there mounting to an officially confirmed figure of 6,732, with about 3,000 others still reported missing.
The new count brought Indonesia’s death toll to around 80,000 — the worst hit nation, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, whose government said it had found 3,500 bodies in one province yesterday. The total across 11 nations in Southern Asia and East Africa was likely to rise, with thousands still missing and fears that disease could bring a new wave of deaths.
Sumatra was closest to the epicenter of last weekend’s magnitude 9 earthquake and was overwhelmed by the tsunamis that followed. Some 60 percent of Banda Aceh, the main city in northern Sumatra was destroyed, the UN children’s agency estimated, and the island’s northwest coast — lined with villages — was inundated.
In Geneva, the UN health agency warned that up to five million people in tsunami-struck areas lack access to the basic supplies they need to stay alive, such as clean water, shelter, food, sanitation and health care.
“This is the most serious natural disaster to affect the region for several decades,” said WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook. “The health needs of the populations affected are immediate and substantial.”
In Sri Lanka, hopes the government and ethnic-Tamil rebels might find common cause in tragedy soured yesterday during a visit by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to rebel-held areas in the north.
Villagers were telling the prime minister their problems and what aid they needed when an announcement was made over a loudspeaker urging people not to interact with Rajapakse, said an official with the prime minister’s delegation.
After hearing the call, the public got agitated and shouted “Get out ... We don’t want your help.” Some members of the crowd then picked up wooden poles and hit some journalists and a soldier. Rajapakse and the other ministers were rushed to a nearby military base, officials said. On Wednesday, Rajapakse said the government would send relief to Tamils in rebel-controlled territory without discrimination and warned that a guerrilla appeal for direct international aid would further split the war-ravaged country.
Meanwhile, an international relief effort unprecedented in scale gathered pace.
Military ships and planes rushed to get desperately needed aid to Sumatra’s ravaged coast. Countless corpses strewn on the streets rotted under the tropical sun causing a nearly unbearable stench.
Food drops began along the coast, mostly of instant noodles and medicines, with some of the areas “hard to reach because they are surrounded by cliffs,” said Budi Aditutro, head of the government’s relief team.
Government institutions in Aceh province, the territory on Sumatra’s northern tip, have ceased to function and basic supplies such as fuel have almost run out, forcing even ambulances to ration gasoline.
On the streets of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, fights have broken out over packets of noodles dropped from military vehicles.
“I believe the frustration will be growing in the days and weeks ahead,” UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland said.
The United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts, President Bush announced.
— With input from agencies
