Powell hails quake relief effort and Update on Relief Effort
news.bbc.co.uk
Last Updated: Tuesday, 4 January, 2005, 05:29 GMT
US helicopters are already playing a vital role in moving aid
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has pledged America's full support in the Asian quake and tsunami relief effort.
He was speaking in Thailand at the start of a visit of the worst affected nations, before attending a summit on the crisis in Jakarta on Thursday.
"The US will certainly not turn away from those in desperate need," he said.
Earlier, the UN warned the number killed in the disaster, about 150,000, could rise sharply as aid had not yet reached some remote areas.
Relief efforts in the worst-hit area, Indonesia's Aceh province, suffered a setback early on Tuesday when an accident closed the Banda Aceh airport runway
An Indian helicopter dropping food and water over the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands is attacked by tribesmen using bows and arrows
The first planes bringing home the bodies of some of the 52 Swedes known to have died in the tsunami disaster are expected to arrive in Stockholm.
More than 1.8 million need food aid, and about five million are homeless after the earthquake nine days ago.
FOREIGN TSUNAMI VICTIMS
Germany: 60 dead
1,000 missing
Sweden: 52 dead
2,322 missing
Britain: 40 dead
159 missing
France: 22 dead
99+ missing
Norway: 21 dead
150 missing
Japan: 21 dead
Italy: 18 dead
540+ missing
Switzerland: 16 dead
105 missing
US: 15 dead
Australia: 12 dead
79 missing
South Korea: 11 dead
9 missing
Figures include those feared dead but not all unaccounted for.
Sources: Reuters, AP
Mr Powell and the US president's brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, are visiting Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka to see for themselves the worst affected areas.
The US secretary of state said the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean was a "tragedy for the entire world".
He said the US would help Thailand and other countries to establish a tsunami early warning system, and if more aid was needed, it would be provided.
Earlier on Monday, President Bush joined two of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior, to urge Americans to aid the Asian tsunami's victims.
Around $2bn in aid has been pledged by governments and international agencies.
UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland said the response had been "truly overwhelming" and that some of the world's poorest countries had responded with substantial assistance and even cash.
He confirmed the number of dead was about 150,000, but warned the number could "grow exponentially" as aid agencies finally get to remote parts of Sumatra, closest to the quake's epicentre.
It was previously thought the town of Banda Aceh, in Sumatra's Aceh province, had been the worst affected, he said.
But a team from the Red Cross and Red Crescent fears 40,000 people - about 80% of the population - have been killed in the town of Meulaboh, 150kms south of Banda Aceh.
It says the survivors are walking round in a daze, and are in desperate need of help.
Cow on runway
The BBC's Christian Fraser in Banda Aceh, says the aid effort to the area has been hampered by the accident at the airport.
A commercial cargo plane hit a cow as it landed and came to rest two-thirds of the way down the runway, leading to the closure of the airport.
It is a further frustration to the UN who already have concerns about the limited capacity of the airport where civilian and military aircraft share the same runway, say correspondents.
For the rest of the day the aid, sitting in the provincial town of Medan, 500kms south, will have to be moved by helicopter.
CONFIRMED DEATH TOLLS
1. Indonesia: 94,081
2. Sri Lanka: 30,196
3. India (inc Andaman and Nicobar Is): 9,479
4. Thailand: 5,046 5. Somalia: 142
6. Burma: 53
7. Maldives: 74
8. Malaysia: 67 9. Tanzania: 10
10. Seychelles: 1
11. Bangladesh: 2
12. Kenya: 1
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