Emergency aid: The international Red Cross agency has issued an emergency appeal for immediate aid to the hundreds of thousands of people stricken by yesterday's tsunamis.
The Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were among the countries for which aid was earmarked.
It was seeking an initial and immediate 7.5 million Swiss francs (€4.85 million) and said about half a million people were affected in Sri Lanka alone, but that reliable information was still hard to come by across the region.
"This is a preliminary appeal. It will be revised after exact needs are evaluated," Simon Missiri, head of the federation's Asia Pacific department, said.
Earlier, the federation released one million Swiss francs ($870,000) from its disaster relief emergency fund to get assistance moving to the region.
The United States said it would offer "all appropriate assistance" to Asian countries, with some aid already on its way to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The European Union pledged an initial €3 million. Local news agency Belga said Belgium had allocated its own €500,000 in emergency aid to be distributed by Red Cross bodies and the EU.
The United Nations said it was sending a disaster assessment and co-ordination team to the region to work with governments on rescue and relief assistance.
Thousands of people died after tsunamis, triggered by a massive under-sea quake, slammed into coastal areas in southern Asia.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and businesses.
The Red Cross Federation said it would send medical supplies for 100,000 people in Sri Lanka - close to the epicentre of the strongest quake in 40 years - on today from Copenhagen, including special medication to treat diarrhoeal diseases.
"The biggest health challenges we face is the spread of water-borne diseases, particularly malaria and diarrhoea, as well as respiratory tract infections," the federation's senior health officer, Dr Hakan Sandbladh, said in Geneva.
The organisation said it would be sending a field assessment and co-ordination team to Sri Lanka within hours and had on standby several emergency response units specialised on water and sanitation as well as field hospitals.
"Death tolls are likely to increase over time. I'm sure the numbers will go up," said Mr Titon Mitra, emergency response director for the CARE aid agency in Geneva. Water, sanitation, food, shelter and health would be the top five areas to be addressed, she said. Wells would be affected and drinking water could be contaminated with sea water or overflowing sewage, she added.
The United Nations' Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva stated it was making an emergency cash grant of $50,000 (€37,000) to Sri Lanka for relief work and was sending a needs evaluation team to the island.
The office said it would be deciding on help for other affected countries as more detailed information became available. It also offered to act as a channel for cash contribution for immediate assistance.
Israel is sending six doctors to Sri Lanka and setting up camps to help its nationals on stricken Thai islands. Up to 20 Israelis were reported missing and several were injured in Thailand, Israeli officials said. - (Reuters).