Continuous valiant efforts around the globe are being done to reach out to the thousands of victims of the tsunami disaster that affected several Asian countries. The tremendous death toll and terrible destruction caused by the giant tidal waves caused by an underwater earthquake, on December 26, 2004, waved out a global call for every relief organization to do what they can in helping out the victims.
It was truly one of the worst disasters to happen in history. Between 167,530 and 178,118 people have been reported dead and the number of missing ranges from 25,353 to 128,430 with most presumed dead. One of the hardest hit was Indonesia, with between 119,807 and 123,198 dead and between 12,046 and 114,897 were missing. Aceh province at the northern tip of Sumatra Islands was near the quake’s epicenter and the hardest hit region in Indonesia.
In India, the government confirmed 10,779 deaths and 5,614 people missing. Sri Lanka reported deaths between 30,998 and 38,195 and 4,698 to 4,924 missing people. In Thailand there were 5,395 dead and 2,995 missing. Phang Nga province and the nearby resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi were worst hit by the waves. Death tolls were also reported in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives and Somalia.
Contamination and diseases from mosquitoes, contaminated drinking water, exposure and handling of dead bodies, mass injuries and trauma are widespread.
It sure is a good way to spread out word in the web calling out for donations, and another link would make much more difference. It is a worthwhile effort of Christopher Mackay to post a reminder and call for users on December 31, 2004, 12:30 am http://chris.tantramarinteractive.com/node?from=10.
He have invited people to donate what they can to the Canadian Red Cross, which have a tsunami fundraising program to go on for the next ten years – involving relief, recovery and rehabilitation. And according to press releases on January 27, 2005 at Ottawa, Canada, General Dr. Pierre Duplessis, the Canadian Red Cross Secretary General proudly announced that outpouring of care and generosity has been overwhelming all over the world and particularly in Canada.
They reported that 181 national societies that belong to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have collected $1.4 billion for tsunami aid already. This includes $160 million from individuals, corporations and governments of Canada. With these figures, they have decided wind down fundraising. This decision was also based on the progress of damage and assessment reports, consultations with other relief agencies and Red Cross experience in disaster management.
Announcements through the web have really helped much for their efforts. The International Red Cross has already completed 77 tsunami relief flights. They are continuing relief efforts, moving beyond the ‘emergency phase’ in Asia with more than 9,000 trained Red Cross workers. After about 30 days from the date of the disaster, 500,000 people has been provided by the Red Cross. Clean water, temporary shelter, food and basic relief items.
