Post by Sunnysnet on Dec 30, 2004 3:11:27 GMT -5
By Tomi Soetjipto and Dean Yates
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) -
Millions of people around the Indian Ocean scrambled
for food and clean water on Thursday, with disease and hunger
now the main threat stalking survivors of the most devastating
tsunami on record.
Millions Hunt for Food as Tsunami Toll Over 80,000
The toll could rise to 100,000 when all the dead are counted,
said Peter Rees of the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies
The official death toll rose to 82,847 but the true scale of
the disaster may not be known for days, or even weeks,
as rescuers battled to reach remote stricken areas and
grieving survivors searched for the missing.
The scale that was known was staggering.
"Entire villages have been washed away,"
said Rod Volway, program manager for CARE Canada's
Emergency Response Team which was one of the first
aid groups into Indonesia's northern Aceh province,
the worst-hit area.
"This isn't just a situation of giving out food and water.
Entire towns and villages need to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Everything has been destroyed."
The toll could rise to 100,000 when all the dead are counted,
said Peter Rees of the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
U.N. officials say up to a third of the victims could be children.
SECOND WAVE OF DEATHS
Health authorities predict a second wave of deaths could hit
those who survived Sunday's monster wave from diseases such as
dysentery, cholera and typhoid fever caused by contaminated food and water.
Survivors in worst-hit Aceh province complained aid was only
trickling in despite a mountain of supplies stacking up at
the local airport. Aid officials blamed poor coordination
with the military.
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