Excerpt from:
CJAD 800 : News
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CP) – After the devastation wreaked by the seas, a deluge from the skies deepened the misery for tsunami-stricken areas of southern Asia on Saturday, triggering flash-floods in Sri Lanka that sent evacuees fleeing and increasing the threat of deadly disease as survivors shivered in relief centres.
The death toll was expected to hit 150,000. A magnitude 6.5 aftershock jolted Sumatra as the world’s aid efforts shifted into high gear in ways big and small: elephant convoys working in Thailand, global assistance reaching $2 billion with a fresh pledge from Japan and the U.S. military launching one of the biggest relief missions in history.
The confirmed death toll from the quake and tsunamis that hit a week ago Sunday passed 123,000 and the United Nations has said the estimated number was approaching 150,000. Thailand said it expects its death toll to reach 8,000.