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American Morning
Death, Devastation and Disease Left in Wake of Southeast Asia Tsunamis
Aired December 29, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Rising toll: Nearly 68,000 people are already dead now. But without immediate help thousands and thousands of tsunami survivors could die from disease.
Increased aid: The U.S. kicks in $20 million more. Vast sums are needed. Those who need help most are the hardest to reach.
And holding out hope: Around the world, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, desperate for news of their loved ones, trying everything to get word on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everybody. Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien are off today. I'm Rick Sanchez.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins.
Boy, just a really tough morning today. In the last few hours the estimate of those people killed by the tsunamis has jumped again to almost 68,000. Local governments have not been able to get a handle on numbers because roads and railways have been completely washed away. That's what aid workers are facing now, too.
In this hour we will be looking into the fear that what is already one of the deadliest catastrophes ever could easily get much worse.
SANCHEZ: The most important part of this story is the relief, and the money, the supplies that are already pouring in. It is huge.
The United States has committed $35 million so far, plus an aircraft carrier, other ships and planes to try and help. We expect to hear, during the next couple of hours, in fact, from President Bush.
Just ahead we will be hearing from a man who survived a tsunami as the water carried him away. He held on to anything that he possibly could, including power lines. At one point, a surfboard, right?
COLLINS: His story is absolutely incredible. We will get to it a little bit later.
SANCHEZ: Let's check in first, though, with Carol Costello and the stories making news now -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Rick.
Good morning to all of you.
"Now In The News", Iraqi police, once again, target of the latest violence in Baghdad. U.S. military sources say an anonymous caller lured a group of Iraqi police into a booby-trapped house killing at least 28 people. It's believed up to 1800 pounds of explosives were rigged to go off inside the house, you're looking at.
Interim Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is pledging to follow in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat. Abbas, addressing supporters ahead of January 9 elections. Opinion polls show him as the clear front-runner. It will be the first presidential vote in nine years for the Palestinians.
Residents in Southern California are bracing for more bad weather. A powerful storm battered the region yesterday with almost a foot of rain and winds up to 60 miles per hour. The weather causing flooding and power outages. Three deaths have been linked to the storm. More on what is expected in today's forecast with Chad coming up.
And Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, says it expects to be fully operational today. The airline was left scrambling following a weekend computer glitch that stranded some 30,000 holiday travelers. An out-of-date computer system is blamed for the disruption. There is word Comair plans to switch to a new system within the next 10 months.
Back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Carol, thanks so much.
Four days after the massive quake and tsunamis, the death toll is rising dramatically. This is a disaster with a scope rarely seen on the planet. More than 67,000 people are dead. A number that is expected to rise and almost half of the dead are in Indonesia; as many as one-third of the victims may be children. As international aid pours into the area, relief workers say the immediate need is for food and drinking water for survivors.
SANCHEZ: We mentioned this just moments ago getting relief to these remote areas, it is a challenging process. The lack of clean water and medicine, the threat of a health crisis continues to loom over this region. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this particular angle of the story from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The biggest goal here in Sri Lanka is to ensure those who survived the tsunami stay living. Health officials warning tonight that as many people may die from disease in these tsunami devastated areas as die from the actual tsunami itself. And from what have seen here on the ground in Sri Lanka, we'd have to agree.
You see the public health system here struggles in the best of times, now, it seems practically non-existent; makeshift morgues, burial sites, often overflowing with the gruesome sight of decomposing bodies. Hospitals without reliable electricity, running water or communications systems now treating everything from broken bones and infections to dehydration and heat stroke.
But it is an epidemic of infectious diseases that worries doctors here most. It is the water supply that now poses the biggest danger to those who survive the killer waves of water that swept ashore here Sunday. Water and food contaminated by human waste and salt water from the sea can lead to diseases like cholera and dysentery, which can be fatal.
Standing water from the flooding can attract mosquitoes, spawning outbreaks of malaria and Dengue fever. Those left homeless, those trying to survive on the streets also face the threat of respiratory illness from bacteria and viruses that quickly spread when unsanitary conditions exist.
Relief efforts now focus on water purification systems and distribution of bottled water being flown in by aide groups. Quick burial of bodies and clean up of sewage and debris. The providing of safe and sanitary shelter to those who have been left homeless, as well as clean temporary medical clinics to treat the sick as well as the injured -- Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: We should mention Doctor Sanjay Gupta will be reporting from Sri Lanka for us throughout the week.
Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: What began as a dream vacation turned into a nightmare for a Chicago family. The Heydemanns faced Mother Nature's terrifying wrath just one day before their return to the States.
Dr. Peter Heydemann was dragged into the sea by the force of the tsunami. He joins us this morning from Chicago to talk about his amazing tale of survival.
Doctor, we are just thrilled to have you here this morning. So pleased you are all right. I see your arm in a sling there. I know it was broken.
Tell us what happened. How did it all start for you?
DR. PETER HEYDEMANN, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: We were on the veranda at the resort hotel we were at, which was on the high ground overlooking a small street, and overlooking the beach, a relatively small beach.
We saw several smaller rises and recessions of water. Then -- those rises and recessions seemed to get farther and farther apart. They were never too bad. They went up over the beach into street level and then the beach equipment, such as the umbrellas and the chairs, all floated away. The bottoms of the stores were all hurt. And it seemed like it was over. I walked down there to the street level behind the beach and on the far side of the street, were these stores. I was looking in one. In fact, it was a store we had just purchased something at the day before. And I was looking at how much destruction there was in the store, just from the low levels of water that had hit it in the past few minutes. I didn't know the big one was still coming.
And suddenly I heard somebody yell, I assumed it was something like run. But I had no place to run to. Suddenly I was in water above my head. I was washed into the store. Something broke my arm. I never felt what broke my humoris (ph).
COLLINS: So clearly, Doctor, you had absolutely no idea -- as we watch this video day after day, it seems just stunning that people have no idea what is around them. They have not seen it before you don't look at this and go, I'm now in the middle of a tsunami. I mean, what were your thoughts?
HEYDEMANN: We recognized -- it was something like a very high tide when it started. Except the folks who were near us who had been on that beach for a while said they had never seen a high tide like that. And people wondered whether it was some kind of tidal wave. But, you know, it was relatively minor.
Then we watched it happen a couple times, but nobody really recognized it as something that was preceding the big wave. That's when I walked back down in that area.
COLLINS: All right. So, now your arm is broken. You are stranded in the store. The water is around you. What happens next?
HEYDEMANN: I'm underwater. And I might have stayed underwater except the buildings were fairly weakly built, and the building disintegrated around me. The roof went away and I floated up to the tree-top level where I finally got my head back up above water.
I was pleased to see a tree branch nearby. I grabbed for it, I didn't know my left hand wasn't going to be able to do any grabbing at that point. It didn't. I grabbed for it, the branch broke a moment later. The utility lines were right in front of me. I really didn't want to put my head back under the water, but I did to try to get underneath the lines.
But I didn't quite get far enough underneath, I came up and one was left in front of me, which I couldn't avoid. Fortunately there was no power in it. I held on to that for a second, but didn't want to really hold on to that, then the power of the recession of the water took me out into the bay.
COLLINS: Any idea, at this point, how long all of this took before you were actually able to make it ashore?
HEYDEMANN: I was probably in the water about 40 minutes. The water was very dangerous. The parts of the buildings were in the water, there were all these boards that made up the buildings. The boards had big nails sticking out of them. So that any wave or disturbance in the water could have easily sent one of those boards with me.
There was lots of debris around me. There were gas cans, and some of the debris was actually helpful. There was something like a body surf board that I grabbed on to help me with some flotation. But nobody saw me from the beach, and nobody saw me from the veranda of the hotel. I tried every now and then use my one good arm, to let go of the flotation and wave, but nobody could see me.
COLLINS: We should remind everyone you were there with your entire family. A couple daughters that were in college, on college break. How did you finally reunite with them?
HEYDEMANN: I finally got out of the water. It was hard getting out. I was pushing against currents that didn't want me to go in. I struggled out. I saw the beach stairs, got up there as best I could. Went to the nearest high ground at a not as well-built hotel across the street. Some Swedes and German vacationers helped me.
Once I was sort of stabilized and got a few sips of water and they gave me some sandals, I found a car that was willing to take me to the hospital.
COLLINS: And suddenly your daughter was in that car, right?
HEYDEMANN: Well, she -- as I was entering the car, she then came down that road. And she saw me there, entering the car. She was thrilled to see me. I was thrilled to see her.
COLLINS: I'm sure. I'm sure she was.
HEYDEMANN: I had actually skipped a prior car. I didn't go in a prior car. I wanted my family to know I was alive. I could have gone to the emergency room about 10 minutes earlier, but I chose not to.
COLLINS: Well, quickly, sir, I'm sorry we are running out of time. But I want to ask you before we let you go, now, you are back in Chicago, and you are sitting there watching the images that you watch on television now, what goes through your mind?
HEYDEMANN: Well, you know, not paying good enough clues to nature. I didn't -- I knew those weren't regular tides and I probably should have never walked down to the beach. I bet there are hundreds and hundreds of people like me, who went down there thinking it was all over. So, not paying attention to nature's clues was one.
Then, of course, we're very interested in these warning systems because it seems that there were ways to notify people who had communication equipment as we would have had.
COLLINS: Yes, well, Doctor Peter Heydemann, we will talk more about that today, in fact.
We certainly appreciate your time here this morning. Again, happy to see you safe and sound. Thank you, sir.
HEYDEMANN: Thank you. SANCHEZ: As we hear those stories we also study the numbers that continue to go up. More than 32,000 are dead in Indonesia, as a result of this tsunami. Numbers that seem to surpass those of Sri Lanka that we have been telling you about. That's more than half of the total death toll. We get more from Mike Chinoy he is in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is what was once the bustling port area of Banda Aceh. In a few moments, on Sunday morning, it became a disaster area and it remains so today.
You can see a few meters behind me, on the other side of this bridge, about 40 bodies. They must have been collected and brought there after the tidal wave. They're covered in blue plastic, but they have been lying there decomposing in the tropical sun for at least a few days. No one has come to collect them.
That's hardly a unique site around here. There are bodies all over the place. And it is a real public health hazard.
The force of the tsunami is more even than the power of the earthquake is what people here talk about. You get a sense of just how powerful those waves were. These boats were thrown against this bridge, smashed up against this bridge. And another boat on the far side thrown on top of houses on the far shore.
All around, the ground is littered with the bits and pieces of daily life, ID cards, pieces of clothing, fans, photographs, testament to an entire community that was completely devastated.
You can see over here just how extensive that devastation was. Every building has been leveled. It's clear that this big piece of concrete was brought down by the force of the quake, but the smaller pieces were the corrugated tin roofs of what were homes and shops, completely leveled. There's no question there would be bodies decomposing inside there.
In fact, the whole issue of bodies is a real problem. You can see over here more bodies that have been lying in the middle of this bridge. The authorities are very concerned about public health implications of this, possible spread of epidemics, the contamination of drinking water.
For the citizens of Banda Aceh, they are walking around in the area in a kind of a daze. Many of them with handkerchiefs to cover their noses because of the stench of the decomposing bodies is so unbearable.
People just moving around; there's no aid coming in yet, too shocked to figure out what to do. Not certain where help will come from.
This is the situation in the center of the capitol of a province. God only knows how much worse it must be in the outlying areas where the fate of hundreds of thousands of others remains unknown. Mike Chinoy, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Mike Chinoy will follow things for us in Indonesia. You can logon to CNN.com for the very latest information on the tsunami disaster and what you can possibly do to help.
COLLINS: Want to check the forecast now. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the very latest, to do just that.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
COLLINS: A New York family's desperate search, one woman and her father try to track down some 30 relatives caught in the catastrophe. They will share their story with us.
SANCHEZ: Also, the United States more than doubles its relief pledge after some pressure to do so. Is it still not enough? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING as we continue to bring you the very latest on the tsunamis; relief workers and supplies are pouring into affected areas already. But aid workers say much more is need.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, that is the USAID, distributes U.S. foreign aid in cases like these. It's director is Andrew Natsios.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW NATSIOS, DIRECTOR, USAID: The first thing we do is we have sectoral experts in the four major areas that we do relief work in.
One is food assistance, what are the nutritional needs? The second is water and sanitation. The third is shelter. And the fourth is medical care, or health. So, we do those four things in every emergency.
There's a manual that we wrote 15 years ago called "The Field Officer's Guide" and it has assessment formulas in it in each of those sectors. We have trained people. They go in, they count the number of people, the number of buildings damaged, the number of people displaced, the number of people homeless.
They look at the local food supply. They see how many tons of food are needed per person, or per a 10,000 group of people. They make sure those are on -- available. So, whatever the gap is, is what we provide.
SANCHEZ: Is that the DART Team, as it is often referred to, the Disaster Assistance Relief Team?
NATSIOS: That's exactly right.
SANCHEZ: But, you know what, this is different, though. Most disasters, when you think about it, it's specifically located in one area. How do you attack something as vast as this piece of land in this case?
NATSIOS: Well, that's the unusual part of this. We have actually had -- the Chinese famine of '58 killed 29 million people. So, we had much larger disaster in the 20th century, in terms of the number of dead. The Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, that I was involved in running the relief effort for, killed 140,000 people. But both those were in only one country.
The unusual part of this disaster, the terrible tragedy of it, it covers like a dozen countries. There are people in Tanzania who were killed in it, which is really unusual.
So, we have had to divide the DART Team into six different parts, to go to six different countries. We are in communication with each of them. But it's more complex logistically in terms of communications systems to get all these people latched up together and to be coordinating with the U.S. military, that is also working with us.
SANCHEZ: This may be a bit of a political question, but I think it's correct to ask you this. Given that support internationally for the United States has waned in recent years some would say because of the war in Iraq, do you see this as the perfect opportunity for the United States of America to step up and show its benevolence, with its relief?
NATSIOS: Well, we have always been, actually, the leaders internationally for decades in humanitarian relief. We are the leading donor government. The latest statistics show we are 40 percent of the total of all humanitarian relief from governments in the world.
The president has actually increased that while he has been president. There's been a 140 percent increase in our foreign aid budget since I've been here three, four years now. It is the largest increase since the Truman administration. That's not commonly known, but it's true. It's in the international statistics.
We are very generous. President Bush is unusually generous compared to other presidents.
SANCHEZ: But going back to my question, about what has happened in the world as a result of the Iraq war. Forget, put side the numbers right now, just what the perception is, maybe even not the reality. Given that, do you feel, as someone in charge of this relief effort, representing the greatest country on earth, this is our opportunity to really step up and show'em, what a wonderful benevolent country we really are?
NATSIOS: We are doing that. But I just want to caution the way in which a good relief effort is run is you do the assessments first, you put an initial amount of money in their fund, in order to spend immediately. But the assessments come back and then we fund the assessments.
We don't do it backwards because we had a lot of disasters over the years where you send money to the wrong country in the wrong amount, and another country that need more help doesn't get it, because you didn't do the assessments first. You have to do the assessments first to determine what the needs are. And then you fund it.
That's what we will do. That's what other countries will do. There's $110 million, right now been pledged by different governments. We have pledged $35 million. But that's just the initial amount that is in the fund for our field teams to use. Once they tell us what the needs are, then we will make more money available -- and other countries will as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Andrew Natsios, emphasizing what is important here, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), getting it done. He is the administrator of USAID, he was speaking to us about the U.S. relief efforts.
Now, for a full list of the aid organizations in need of donations, that you may be able to help, you can go to our web site. We have them all delineated there. Again, it is CNN.com.
Heidi?
COLLINS: The economic cost of the tsunamis is expected to rise into the billions. But for one industry, the losses are minimal and it's a harsh reminder of just how poor the region is. Andy has that coming your way on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Many of the countries struck by the catastrophe in Asia are very poor. So how does that influence insurance losses? Andy Serwer is joining us now, he's "Minding Your Business".
Anybody even have insurance there?
ANDREW SERWER, COLUMNIST, "FORTUNE": It's a very mixed picture, but there is not a lot of insurance, Heidi.
Obviously, the death toll from this disaster is unquantifiable and horrific, at least not quantifiable yet, same, too, with the economic costs. Experts are trying to tally that up. Two things are for certain -- it's uncertain, as of now, and it's very likely to rise.
Right now, what is going on is most of these countries do not have high levels of insurance at all. Which is a huge, huge problem. It's going to mean that the governments will have to step in. Here is a very startling picture.
COLLINS: Wow.
SERWER: This is premiums as a percentage of GDP. In other words, how much is paid out each year by individuals and businesses in insurance versus the total domestic product of the country. You can see Bangladesh, very little compared to the U.S., the bottom 5 percent. Thailand has about 1 percent. That would be primarily, say Western hotels in Phuket, for instance.
What sort of numbers do we have here? Insured losses apparently right now, from this disaster, are about $13 billion. Which is very, very small if you compare that, for instance, to the storms in Florida this year, which added up to $40 billion.
This is a much bigger disaster. You can see the gap there has to do with the fact there's not a lot of insurance coverage. That means relief agencies and governments have to step up. There's going to be a lot of suffering here as a result of that.
COLLINS: There is still so much more damage assessment, too. It's still very early on.
SERWER: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: We should emphasize, too, there are a lot of business interests, Indonesia, Thailand, and a lot of U.S. business interests, right?
SERWER: Right. That's correct. And, you know what will happen there we are still sorting out.
COLLINS: Andy, thanks for that.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Well, as I'm sure you have determined by now, the story is unimaginable. A New York family desperately tries to track down as many as 30 relatives caught in the catastrophe. They'll tell us how they dealt with such a painful week ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 29, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Rising toll: Nearly 68,000 people are already dead now. But without immediate help thousands and thousands of tsunami survivors could die from disease.
Increased aid: The U.S. kicks in $20 million more. Vast sums are needed. Those who need help most are the hardest to reach.
And holding out hope: Around the world, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, desperate for news of their loved ones, trying everything to get word on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everybody. Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien are off today. I'm Rick Sanchez.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins.
Boy, just a really tough morning today. In the last few hours the estimate of those people killed by the tsunamis has jumped again to almost 68,000. Local governments have not been able to get a handle on numbers because roads and railways have been completely washed away. That's what aid workers are facing now, too.
In this hour we will be looking into the fear that what is already one of the deadliest catastrophes ever could easily get much worse.
SANCHEZ: The most important part of this story is the relief, and the money, the supplies that are already pouring in. It is huge.
The United States has committed $35 million so far, plus an aircraft carrier, other ships and planes to try and help. We expect to hear, during the next couple of hours, in fact, from President Bush.
Just ahead we will be hearing from a man who survived a tsunami as the water carried him away. He held on to anything that he possibly could, including power lines. At one point, a surfboard, right?
COLLINS: His story is absolutely incredible. We will get to it a little bit later.
SANCHEZ: Let's check in first, though, with Carol Costello and the stories making news now -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Rick.
Good morning to all of you.
"Now In The News", Iraqi police, once again, target of the latest violence in Baghdad. U.S. military sources say an anonymous caller lured a group of Iraqi police into a booby-trapped house killing at least 28 people. It's believed up to 1800 pounds of explosives were rigged to go off inside the house, you're looking at.
Interim Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is pledging to follow in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat. Abbas, addressing supporters ahead of January 9 elections. Opinion polls show him as the clear front-runner. It will be the first presidential vote in nine years for the Palestinians.
Residents in Southern California are bracing for more bad weather. A powerful storm battered the region yesterday with almost a foot of rain and winds up to 60 miles per hour. The weather causing flooding and power outages. Three deaths have been linked to the storm. More on what is expected in today's forecast with Chad coming up.
And Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, says it expects to be fully operational today. The airline was left scrambling following a weekend computer glitch that stranded some 30,000 holiday travelers. An out-of-date computer system is blamed for the disruption. There is word Comair plans to switch to a new system within the next 10 months.
Back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Carol, thanks so much.
Four days after the massive quake and tsunamis, the death toll is rising dramatically. This is a disaster with a scope rarely seen on the planet. More than 67,000 people are dead. A number that is expected to rise and almost half of the dead are in Indonesia; as many as one-third of the victims may be children. As international aid pours into the area, relief workers say the immediate need is for food and drinking water for survivors.
SANCHEZ: We mentioned this just moments ago getting relief to these remote areas, it is a challenging process. The lack of clean water and medicine, the threat of a health crisis continues to loom over this region. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this particular angle of the story from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The biggest goal here in Sri Lanka is to ensure those who survived the tsunami stay living. Health officials warning tonight that as many people may die from disease in these tsunami devastated areas as die from the actual tsunami itself. And from what have seen here on the ground in Sri Lanka, we'd have to agree.
You see the public health system here struggles in the best of times, now, it seems practically non-existent; makeshift morgues, burial sites, often overflowing with the gruesome sight of decomposing bodies. Hospitals without reliable electricity, running water or communications systems now treating everything from broken bones and infections to dehydration and heat stroke.
But it is an epidemic of infectious diseases that worries doctors here most. It is the water supply that now poses the biggest danger to those who survive the killer waves of water that swept ashore here Sunday. Water and food contaminated by human waste and salt water from the sea can lead to diseases like cholera and dysentery, which can be fatal.
Standing water from the flooding can attract mosquitoes, spawning outbreaks of malaria and Dengue fever. Those left homeless, those trying to survive on the streets also face the threat of respiratory illness from bacteria and viruses that quickly spread when unsanitary conditions exist.
Relief efforts now focus on water purification systems and distribution of bottled water being flown in by aide groups. Quick burial of bodies and clean up of sewage and debris. The providing of safe and sanitary shelter to those who have been left homeless, as well as clean temporary medical clinics to treat the sick as well as the injured -- Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: We should mention Doctor Sanjay Gupta will be reporting from Sri Lanka for us throughout the week.
Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: What began as a dream vacation turned into a nightmare for a Chicago family. The Heydemanns faced Mother Nature's terrifying wrath just one day before their return to the States.
Dr. Peter Heydemann was dragged into the sea by the force of the tsunami. He joins us this morning from Chicago to talk about his amazing tale of survival.
Doctor, we are just thrilled to have you here this morning. So pleased you are all right. I see your arm in a sling there. I know it was broken.
Tell us what happened. How did it all start for you?
DR. PETER HEYDEMANN, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: We were on the veranda at the resort hotel we were at, which was on the high ground overlooking a small street, and overlooking the beach, a relatively small beach.
We saw several smaller rises and recessions of water. Then -- those rises and recessions seemed to get farther and farther apart. They were never too bad. They went up over the beach into street level and then the beach equipment, such as the umbrellas and the chairs, all floated away. The bottoms of the stores were all hurt. And it seemed like it was over. I walked down there to the street level behind the beach and on the far side of the street, were these stores. I was looking in one. In fact, it was a store we had just purchased something at the day before. And I was looking at how much destruction there was in the store, just from the low levels of water that had hit it in the past few minutes. I didn't know the big one was still coming.
And suddenly I heard somebody yell, I assumed it was something like run. But I had no place to run to. Suddenly I was in water above my head. I was washed into the store. Something broke my arm. I never felt what broke my humoris (ph).
COLLINS: So clearly, Doctor, you had absolutely no idea -- as we watch this video day after day, it seems just stunning that people have no idea what is around them. They have not seen it before you don't look at this and go, I'm now in the middle of a tsunami. I mean, what were your thoughts?
HEYDEMANN: We recognized -- it was something like a very high tide when it started. Except the folks who were near us who had been on that beach for a while said they had never seen a high tide like that. And people wondered whether it was some kind of tidal wave. But, you know, it was relatively minor.
Then we watched it happen a couple times, but nobody really recognized it as something that was preceding the big wave. That's when I walked back down in that area.
COLLINS: All right. So, now your arm is broken. You are stranded in the store. The water is around you. What happens next?
HEYDEMANN: I'm underwater. And I might have stayed underwater except the buildings were fairly weakly built, and the building disintegrated around me. The roof went away and I floated up to the tree-top level where I finally got my head back up above water.
I was pleased to see a tree branch nearby. I grabbed for it, I didn't know my left hand wasn't going to be able to do any grabbing at that point. It didn't. I grabbed for it, the branch broke a moment later. The utility lines were right in front of me. I really didn't want to put my head back under the water, but I did to try to get underneath the lines.
But I didn't quite get far enough underneath, I came up and one was left in front of me, which I couldn't avoid. Fortunately there was no power in it. I held on to that for a second, but didn't want to really hold on to that, then the power of the recession of the water took me out into the bay.
COLLINS: Any idea, at this point, how long all of this took before you were actually able to make it ashore?
HEYDEMANN: I was probably in the water about 40 minutes. The water was very dangerous. The parts of the buildings were in the water, there were all these boards that made up the buildings. The boards had big nails sticking out of them. So that any wave or disturbance in the water could have easily sent one of those boards with me.
There was lots of debris around me. There were gas cans, and some of the debris was actually helpful. There was something like a body surf board that I grabbed on to help me with some flotation. But nobody saw me from the beach, and nobody saw me from the veranda of the hotel. I tried every now and then use my one good arm, to let go of the flotation and wave, but nobody could see me.
COLLINS: We should remind everyone you were there with your entire family. A couple daughters that were in college, on college break. How did you finally reunite with them?
HEYDEMANN: I finally got out of the water. It was hard getting out. I was pushing against currents that didn't want me to go in. I struggled out. I saw the beach stairs, got up there as best I could. Went to the nearest high ground at a not as well-built hotel across the street. Some Swedes and German vacationers helped me.
Once I was sort of stabilized and got a few sips of water and they gave me some sandals, I found a car that was willing to take me to the hospital.
COLLINS: And suddenly your daughter was in that car, right?
HEYDEMANN: Well, she -- as I was entering the car, she then came down that road. And she saw me there, entering the car. She was thrilled to see me. I was thrilled to see her.
COLLINS: I'm sure. I'm sure she was.
HEYDEMANN: I had actually skipped a prior car. I didn't go in a prior car. I wanted my family to know I was alive. I could have gone to the emergency room about 10 minutes earlier, but I chose not to.
COLLINS: Well, quickly, sir, I'm sorry we are running out of time. But I want to ask you before we let you go, now, you are back in Chicago, and you are sitting there watching the images that you watch on television now, what goes through your mind?
HEYDEMANN: Well, you know, not paying good enough clues to nature. I didn't -- I knew those weren't regular tides and I probably should have never walked down to the beach. I bet there are hundreds and hundreds of people like me, who went down there thinking it was all over. So, not paying attention to nature's clues was one.
Then, of course, we're very interested in these warning systems because it seems that there were ways to notify people who had communication equipment as we would have had.
COLLINS: Yes, well, Doctor Peter Heydemann, we will talk more about that today, in fact.
We certainly appreciate your time here this morning. Again, happy to see you safe and sound. Thank you, sir.
HEYDEMANN: Thank you. SANCHEZ: As we hear those stories we also study the numbers that continue to go up. More than 32,000 are dead in Indonesia, as a result of this tsunami. Numbers that seem to surpass those of Sri Lanka that we have been telling you about. That's more than half of the total death toll. We get more from Mike Chinoy he is in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is what was once the bustling port area of Banda Aceh. In a few moments, on Sunday morning, it became a disaster area and it remains so today.
You can see a few meters behind me, on the other side of this bridge, about 40 bodies. They must have been collected and brought there after the tidal wave. They're covered in blue plastic, but they have been lying there decomposing in the tropical sun for at least a few days. No one has come to collect them.
That's hardly a unique site around here. There are bodies all over the place. And it is a real public health hazard.
The force of the tsunami is more even than the power of the earthquake is what people here talk about. You get a sense of just how powerful those waves were. These boats were thrown against this bridge, smashed up against this bridge. And another boat on the far side thrown on top of houses on the far shore.
All around, the ground is littered with the bits and pieces of daily life, ID cards, pieces of clothing, fans, photographs, testament to an entire community that was completely devastated.
You can see over here just how extensive that devastation was. Every building has been leveled. It's clear that this big piece of concrete was brought down by the force of the quake, but the smaller pieces were the corrugated tin roofs of what were homes and shops, completely leveled. There's no question there would be bodies decomposing inside there.
In fact, the whole issue of bodies is a real problem. You can see over here more bodies that have been lying in the middle of this bridge. The authorities are very concerned about public health implications of this, possible spread of epidemics, the contamination of drinking water.
For the citizens of Banda Aceh, they are walking around in the area in a kind of a daze. Many of them with handkerchiefs to cover their noses because of the stench of the decomposing bodies is so unbearable.
People just moving around; there's no aid coming in yet, too shocked to figure out what to do. Not certain where help will come from.
This is the situation in the center of the capitol of a province. God only knows how much worse it must be in the outlying areas where the fate of hundreds of thousands of others remains unknown. Mike Chinoy, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Mike Chinoy will follow things for us in Indonesia. You can logon to CNN.com for the very latest information on the tsunami disaster and what you can possibly do to help.
COLLINS: Want to check the forecast now. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the very latest, to do just that.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
COLLINS: A New York family's desperate search, one woman and her father try to track down some 30 relatives caught in the catastrophe. They will share their story with us.
SANCHEZ: Also, the United States more than doubles its relief pledge after some pressure to do so. Is it still not enough? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING as we continue to bring you the very latest on the tsunamis; relief workers and supplies are pouring into affected areas already. But aid workers say much more is need.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, that is the USAID, distributes U.S. foreign aid in cases like these. It's director is Andrew Natsios.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW NATSIOS, DIRECTOR, USAID: The first thing we do is we have sectoral experts in the four major areas that we do relief work in.
One is food assistance, what are the nutritional needs? The second is water and sanitation. The third is shelter. And the fourth is medical care, or health. So, we do those four things in every emergency.
There's a manual that we wrote 15 years ago called "The Field Officer's Guide" and it has assessment formulas in it in each of those sectors. We have trained people. They go in, they count the number of people, the number of buildings damaged, the number of people displaced, the number of people homeless.
They look at the local food supply. They see how many tons of food are needed per person, or per a 10,000 group of people. They make sure those are on -- available. So, whatever the gap is, is what we provide.
SANCHEZ: Is that the DART Team, as it is often referred to, the Disaster Assistance Relief Team?
NATSIOS: That's exactly right.
SANCHEZ: But, you know what, this is different, though. Most disasters, when you think about it, it's specifically located in one area. How do you attack something as vast as this piece of land in this case?
NATSIOS: Well, that's the unusual part of this. We have actually had -- the Chinese famine of '58 killed 29 million people. So, we had much larger disaster in the 20th century, in terms of the number of dead. The Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, that I was involved in running the relief effort for, killed 140,000 people. But both those were in only one country.
The unusual part of this disaster, the terrible tragedy of it, it covers like a dozen countries. There are people in Tanzania who were killed in it, which is really unusual.
So, we have had to divide the DART Team into six different parts, to go to six different countries. We are in communication with each of them. But it's more complex logistically in terms of communications systems to get all these people latched up together and to be coordinating with the U.S. military, that is also working with us.
SANCHEZ: This may be a bit of a political question, but I think it's correct to ask you this. Given that support internationally for the United States has waned in recent years some would say because of the war in Iraq, do you see this as the perfect opportunity for the United States of America to step up and show its benevolence, with its relief?
NATSIOS: Well, we have always been, actually, the leaders internationally for decades in humanitarian relief. We are the leading donor government. The latest statistics show we are 40 percent of the total of all humanitarian relief from governments in the world.
The president has actually increased that while he has been president. There's been a 140 percent increase in our foreign aid budget since I've been here three, four years now. It is the largest increase since the Truman administration. That's not commonly known, but it's true. It's in the international statistics.
We are very generous. President Bush is unusually generous compared to other presidents.
SANCHEZ: But going back to my question, about what has happened in the world as a result of the Iraq war. Forget, put side the numbers right now, just what the perception is, maybe even not the reality. Given that, do you feel, as someone in charge of this relief effort, representing the greatest country on earth, this is our opportunity to really step up and show'em, what a wonderful benevolent country we really are?
NATSIOS: We are doing that. But I just want to caution the way in which a good relief effort is run is you do the assessments first, you put an initial amount of money in their fund, in order to spend immediately. But the assessments come back and then we fund the assessments.
We don't do it backwards because we had a lot of disasters over the years where you send money to the wrong country in the wrong amount, and another country that need more help doesn't get it, because you didn't do the assessments first. You have to do the assessments first to determine what the needs are. And then you fund it.
That's what we will do. That's what other countries will do. There's $110 million, right now been pledged by different governments. We have pledged $35 million. But that's just the initial amount that is in the fund for our field teams to use. Once they tell us what the needs are, then we will make more money available -- and other countries will as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Andrew Natsios, emphasizing what is important here, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), getting it done. He is the administrator of USAID, he was speaking to us about the U.S. relief efforts.
Now, for a full list of the aid organizations in need of donations, that you may be able to help, you can go to our web site. We have them all delineated there. Again, it is CNN.com.
Heidi?
COLLINS: The economic cost of the tsunamis is expected to rise into the billions. But for one industry, the losses are minimal and it's a harsh reminder of just how poor the region is. Andy has that coming your way on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Many of the countries struck by the catastrophe in Asia are very poor. So how does that influence insurance losses? Andy Serwer is joining us now, he's "Minding Your Business".
Anybody even have insurance there?
ANDREW SERWER, COLUMNIST, "FORTUNE": It's a very mixed picture, but there is not a lot of insurance, Heidi.
Obviously, the death toll from this disaster is unquantifiable and horrific, at least not quantifiable yet, same, too, with the economic costs. Experts are trying to tally that up. Two things are for certain -- it's uncertain, as of now, and it's very likely to rise.
Right now, what is going on is most of these countries do not have high levels of insurance at all. Which is a huge, huge problem. It's going to mean that the governments will have to step in. Here is a very startling picture.
COLLINS: Wow.
SERWER: This is premiums as a percentage of GDP. In other words, how much is paid out each year by individuals and businesses in insurance versus the total domestic product of the country. You can see Bangladesh, very little compared to the U.S., the bottom 5 percent. Thailand has about 1 percent. That would be primarily, say Western hotels in Phuket, for instance.
What sort of numbers do we have here? Insured losses apparently right now, from this disaster, are about $13 billion. Which is very, very small if you compare that, for instance, to the storms in Florida this year, which added up to $40 billion.
This is a much bigger disaster. You can see the gap there has to do with the fact there's not a lot of insurance coverage. That means relief agencies and governments have to step up. There's going to be a lot of suffering here as a result of that.
COLLINS: There is still so much more damage assessment, too. It's still very early on.
SERWER: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: We should emphasize, too, there are a lot of business interests, Indonesia, Thailand, and a lot of U.S. business interests, right?
SERWER: Right. That's correct. And, you know what will happen there we are still sorting out.
COLLINS: Andy, thanks for that.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Well, as I'm sure you have determined by now, the story is unimaginable. A New York family desperately tries to track down as many as 30 relatives caught in the catastrophe. They'll tell us how they dealt with such a painful week ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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