It would be very good news and some small consolation to find out the number of US casualties is really this low - it's possible, if there weren't many Americans in the affected regions.
Powell Allays Fears on U.S. Tsunami Casualties
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 5, 2005; 11:15 AM
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 5 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Wednesday tried to allay fears that thousands of Americans may have lost their lives in the Asian tsunami, saying he did not believe "the numbers will be anything like what some of our fellow nations have suffered over the last week."
Powell said the number of dead Americans is currently 16. A somewhat smaller number are confirmed to be missing, other U.S. officials said, generally because another family member had been with them when the tsunami struck.
__ Tsunami in South Asia __
Casualty Map
Track the path of destruction in an animated map and view updated casualty reports.
• How to Help Victims
_____ On the Scene_____
Photo Gallery
The casualty toll from the Dec. 26 tsumani has been highest in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
• Satellite Images: Banda Aceh
'Like a Scene From the Bible'
The Post's Michael Dobbs describes his experience in Sri Lanka.
• Transcript: A First Person Account
• Video: Dobbs Recounts Experience
• More Coverage
spacer
_____Free E-mail Newsletters_____
• Today's Headlines & Columnists
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Breaking News Alerts
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
But news reports have repeatedly cited a much higher number of missing -- as many as 4,000. This is a list of Americans "unaccounted for," meaning a concerned relative had called a State Department hotline.
In most cases, U.S. officials believe, people on this list were likely nowhere near the costal areas hit by the tsunami, but parents or other relatives were concerned because they were traveling somewhere in the region. Then, once they discovered their child was safe, the callers never contacted the State Department again. But, out of an abundance of caution, Powell and other officials have not wanted to officially say that most of the people on the "unaccounted" list are likely safe.
U.S. officials in Thailand note that few Americans visit the Phuket resort island, which was badly damaged by the tsunami, during the Christmas season because beaches in the Caribbean are much closer. But Phuket is very popular with Europeans, who accounted for about half of the casualties.
Shortly after the tsunami struck, about 20,000 people called the State Department, including people who asked whether it was safe to travel to Asia. Slowly the State Department has been cutting down the number of "unaccounted" Americans by calling back every person who had expressed concern about a relative.
"There is still several thousand names we are running to the ground," Powell said. "That does not mean that they are casualties or that they have been lost. They reflect inquires that have been made to us by family members."
Powell said that "with each passing day we are removing hundreds of names from the list." |
