The world's leading charities yesterday pleaded for rich nations and world bodies to act with more urgency and generosity to cope with the unprecedented humanitarian disaster unfolding along the coasts of Asian and African countries.
The official death toll was put at 77,000 and could rise to 100,000, international aid agencies said. The UN estimated that up to 5 million people around the Indian Ocean had been left without food, water or basic sanitation as a result of the tsunami. People could be at risk of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and dysentery.
The head of crisis operations for the World Health Organisation, Mr David Nabarro, was fearful that not enough was being done to help tsunami survivors."Counting deaths is one thing and looking at damaged hotels is another, but the real issue is making sure that the human beings affected by this tragedy survive," he said.
By last night, $250 million (€184 million) had been pledged for the relief effort from the world's 30 richest countries, though major banks and the UN are suggesting that it will cost $10-15 billion to help the region recover. The scale of the effort required, and the potential lack of funds, was underlined yesterday when the Indonesian government appealed for at least $145 million to cope with the country's immediate needs in Aceh and north Sumatra, where an estimated 80,000 people may have died.
A military spokesman, Maj Gen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, said navy ships full of emergency supplies were heading towards Meulaboh, where a third of the population, about 40,000 people, was feared dead.
In Thailand, King Bhumipol Adulyadej donated 30 million baht to help the aid programme - the victims included his grandson, Khun Poom Jensen, who went out jet ski-ing on Sunday morning and did not return.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has cancelled all official New Year's celebrations and urged temples and shrines across the south-east Asian country to hold rites for the thousands of victims.
The government has also introduced an emergency budget to help offset the effects of what could mean a major tourism disaster for Thailand, which relies heavily on the industry.
Yesterday, President George Bush gave his first press conference since the disaster, and reflected the tension between his administration and the UN. At home, he has been under fire for not making a personal appearance on the crisis, and for failing to cut short a holiday trip to his Crawford Ranch.
Without reference to the UN, which is supposed to be co-ordinating the crisis response, Mr Bush said the US had set up a regional donor group to co-ordinate emergency aid, involving India, Australia and Japan.
Administration officials have bridled at suggestions that the initial US aid contribution was modest given the scale of the disaster.
The US Agency for International Development originally offered $15 million but has since added another $20 million. The president took particular offence at an observation by the UN's emergency relief co-ordinator, Mr Jan Egeland, that western nations in general had been "stingy" towards developing nations by giving less in foreign aid at a time of economic growth. "I felt like the person who made that statement was very ill-informed," Mr Bush said yesterday.