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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Stories From South Asian Tsunami

Aired December 30, 2004 - 19:00   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The death toll mounts, and the race is on to save the living.

360 starts now.

Living between hope and hell, hundreds of thousands with nothing left, no homes, no relief, desperately trying to stay alive. Tonight, we take you behind the headlines, personal stories of suffering and survival, tragedy and triumph.

An American man searching for his missing son, last seen on a remote Thai island, and a 4-year-old girl last seen in a wave of water. Her mother wants to know if anyone has seen her little Anna.

Small victories amidst the carnage. Tonight, meet an American family who ran for their lives, and now mourn for those they left behind.

And a young man who miraculously escaped a train while hundreds remained trapped in their seats.

Thousands reaching out to adopt the orphans of the wave, but is it a good idea? Tonight, an in-depth look at the reality of disaster, and what you can do to help.

And what happened to all the animals? Do they really possess a sixth sense for disasters? Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us live.

ANNOUNCER: This is a special two-hour edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, Wave of Destruction.

COOPER: And good evening again. Welcome to this expanded edition of 360.

We realized something last night. Most of those who made it through the ghastly event we've been covering all this week survived because they had something to hold onto -- a tree, a pole, a car, a parent.

We're beginning to go think that we here and you out there need that as well, something to anchor us in the awful undertow of this story.

So that's how we're going to begin tonight. This is television. All we can give you is an image and a story, but it's something, we think, you can hold onto.

This picture -- now, we don't know this little girl's name. She's, what, maybe 2, give or take? The picture was made at a relief camp on India's Little Andaman Island. We have no idea what the moment before this picture was taken was like for her, or what came directly after it.

All we know is what we can see, what you can see right now, which is that, although her cup of milk is empty, she's not put it down. And of course she hasn't. She's making this one all-too-brief moment of comfort, a parentheses in a terrible time, last as long as she possibly can.

We can't see her eyes, but we're willing to bet almost anything that they're closed. Notice to her -- notice her bracelets on each arm. For a moment, just imagine how different her life must have been only a few days ago. Just imagine how good that milk tastes for a little girl who's been through far too much.

That cup of milk, and the brief moment of comfort it provided, may have been part of the vast relief effort that has gotten under way. The effort has to be vast, of course, because the need -- well, the need is vast indeed.

Today the estimated number of dead topped 116,000. The number of those homeless or in need is in the millions. And often, the stories of the dead and the living are inseparable.

From Sri Lanka tonight, here's CNN's Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These devout Christian sisters had celebrated Christmas together the day before, as they had done for the past 40 years. Even after they were married, they chose to live next door to each other. And on the morning of December 26, they woke up at 5:30, had a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast of rice and dal, and then, three hours later, watched as both of their husbands drowned in the tsunami while saving their children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When the second wave came, we were looking for our son, and my husband went out to search for him and found him in a tree. He rescued him, and both of them were running for their lives. Later, my son was found alive, but my husband was missing. He had been drowned.

GUPTA: It all happened in less than 20 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The water was rising, and the sea was coming. We ran for our lives, but it caught us, and the water almost came up to our necks. We managed to escape from the first wave, which destroyed our house. The second wave came and took us by surprise. There was just so much water, I didn't know what to do. GUPTA: Remarkably, their story is not unique. Swerna (ph) and Marianna (ph) Sebastian Francis are among the 3,000 displaced people in this town alone. Its coastal location turned this already deprived fishing community into one of the most vulnerable in the country. Most here are now widows and orphans.

(on camera): So what are they going to do now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't know what to do next. Right now, we don't have a source of income. We'll need to look for jobs, but they are scare.

GUPTA: Days later, they have their health, for the most part. Swerna had her leg banged up pretty badly. Marianna has bandages all over her hand. But they're not from the tsunami, she tells me, but rather from carrying the coffin of her husband and then refusing to let it go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And Anderson, we are right here in the middle of one of these settlement camps. A lot of Buddhist temples around the country instantly became settlement camps, this one having about 3,000 people. The number is growing by the day. Certainly not big enough to house that many people.

But there are tons of stories, like the one you just heard of two sisters.

What we're learning, Anderson, as far as relief goes, there does appear to be enough water, enough food. The real concern for a lot of these people is, where are they going to go over the next couple of weeks? They have no homes. Many of them are widows and orphans. There's no infrastructure to deal with that.

At this time, that's their biggest concern, Anderson.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those two women that we just met, what happens to them? What are they doing tonight? What will they do tomorrow, next week, next month?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, we asked them the same question, Anderson. There really isn't a plan. They're staying here at this Buddhist temple for now. Both the primary breadwinners, their husbands, were killed in the tsunami. They don't have a plan right now as far as how to deal with that. They're calling upon relatives. They may go live with somebody else for some time. They both have two children each. It's going to be a struggle for them.

Again, but housing is sort of a first and foremost for them in terms of getting them moving and getting them mobilized once again, Anderson.

COOPER: You know, Sanjay, I know you're a doctor. You've seen a lot of death, a lot of suffering in your time. Today, what struck you? What sticks in your mind from today? GUPTA: You know, the thing that's really striking about all this, Anderson, is that we're dealing with sort of the aftermath of the tsunami. We're dealing with lots of different -- what would be considered minor illnesses, diarrhea, respiratory illnesses, cuts, abrasions, and things like that, things that could be treated with a 25-cent antibiotic or a stitch, any hospital in the world, probably.

But here, in certain parts of Sri Lanka, because some of those supplies haven't gotten here yet, because some of those antibiotics haven't gotten here yet, people will die of very treatable diseases. And that is frustrating for everybody around here, I'm sure, for us as well, to watch that.

They need more supplies. Again, they're getting the water, they're getting the food, but as far as taking care of some of these ailments, we've still got a ways to go.

COOPER: And Sanjay, we've been getting a lot of e-mails from viewers, many of whom are Sri Lankan, saying, you know, we're not hearing from the north of the country, we're not hearing from the northeast of the country. And all that is true. I mean, they -- it's difficult, at this point, just moving around on the ground, I imagine, to get anywhere. And we're certainly doing the best we can.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

As we told you all this week, the numbers of dead are almost meaningless. So many are missing, we have no idea what the final toll will be. Some new figures just in today, nearly 80,000 of those killed were in Indonesia alone, almost 25,000 are Sri Lankan, nearly 2,000 in Thailand.

But we were struck by another number today. For the first time, the U.S. State Department revealed just how many Americans they're trying to find. Right now, there are up to 3,000 Americans unaccounted for in the disaster zone, up to 3,000. The wall of the missing in Phuket, Thailand, that you're looking at right now, it is full of photos of people of all nationalities, Americans, Europeans, people from around the world.

All these pictures placed there in hopes someone will see them and find them. Their loved ones are waiting, and they're wondering. They are hoping for good news. Right now, for many, there is little good news.

Tonight the American death count stands at 14. But as we said, up to 3,000 remain unaccounted for.

You may remember last night, we talked with Anne-Lie Kjellander of Sweden. She was in a hospital in Bangkok last night, so was her 7- year-old son, martin, and her husband. They face surgery today. Her 4-year-old daughter, Anna, is still missing.

Today, Anne-Lie and her husband and her son, Martin, are going home. They need medical care, and they're going to get it in Sweden by tomorrow morning. She leaves, however, not knowing if little Anna is alive or dead. I spoke with her just moments ago.

How was your surgery today?

ANNE-LIE KJELLANDER, ANNA KJELLANDER'S MOTHER (via telephone): Our surgeries were good. We still have open wounds. They won't stitch them again because they are still a bit infected.

COOPER: And how is Martin's surgery? Your 7-year-old son, Martin, as well had an infected hole in his stomach.

KJELLANDER: Yes, he's the same. He's the same. He has also open wounds. The problem with Martin is that he's so afraid for the child doctors and nurses, so no one gets to touch him. So we have urgently asked SOS International in Copenhagen, Denmark for transport home, so the Swedish doctors can help and talk to Martin, because he has been through so much lately.

COOPER: Have you been able to talk to him? Have you been able to try to calm him?

KJELLANDER: I can't hear you right. But can you once more tell me what you said?

COOPER: Have you been able to talk to Martin? Have you been able to try to calm him?

KJELLANDER: Yes, we are trying to comfort him, and trying to tell him it's nothing to worry about it, but he doesn't trust us anymore, because when we say it doesn't hurt, he still can feel it hurt. And he doesn't trust us. So we have to come home.

COOPER: That's got to be very difficult for you and for Sten.

KJELLANDER: Yes, it's very difficult. And before, my husband could have much more than he can now. He's also injured in the leg, and has got bad infection too. So they were going to operate on him too, but he said that he wouldn't let them operate because, if he's getting operated, he can't help our son. So he's standing back for the operation to help him.

COOPER: Have you heard anything about little Anna? We talked about her last night. She's 4 years old. We put her picture up around the world. I know you've been getting some e-mails, your sister has, in Sweden. Have you heard anything?

KJELLANDER: No, we haven't heard anything. We found out something more about what she was wearing and so on. I told you that she was wearing a dress that was pink-and-white striped and with yellow bikini underwear, and she had pink sandallettes on. And we can also tell people who find her, dead or alive, that her big toenail is gone, because in kindergarten she had a chair that fall on her big toe, and now in Thailand it went off. So she hasn't got a nice big toe.

And that's something that people can look at and see that is Anna.

COOPER: Anna-Lie, when was the last time you saw Anna?

KJELLANDER: When the last time I saw Anna?

COOPER: Yes.

KJELLANDER: It was on the beach. We were standing by each other and watching the wave that was coming in. We didn't understand what it was first. We thought it was a tide or something. When we saw a boat coming up on land (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in front of us, we understood that it was very serious, and we started to run. And I just grabbed my son, which was nearest me, and I didn't see my husband and my daughter.

COOPER: And I know your husband grabbed Anna but was not able to hold onto her. He saw her being swept away.

KJELLANDER: No, he didn't hold her.

COOPER: When do you arrive in Sweden?

KJELLANDER: When we are going to Sweden?

COOPER: Yes.

KJELLANDER: The plane is leaving this morning at 8:40 a.m. Thai local time.

COOPER: Is it difficult for you to leave, knowing that Anna is still in Thailand?

KJELLANDER: Yes, very much. It's very difficult.

COOPER: Well, Anna-Lie, we've been putting your daughter's picture up, and we hope somebody has seen her, somebody has some information. We'll also put up to the Web site about how people can get in touch with her. It's Petra...

KJELLANDER: Well, I certainly -- I appreciate that. And I would like to have any information, bad or good information. We are understanding now that the time has gone so long now that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we think our daughter is dead. But we would like to have it confirmed. So we just don't know where she is. We want to have it confirmed that she is dead.

COOPER: Anna-Lie, our hearts go out to you. And I'm so sorry to be talking to you under this situation, and we will continue to...

KJELLANDER: I can hear a bit badly now.

COOPER: We'll continue to tell this story, and we hope you get some good word about your daughter.

KJELLANDER: Yes, thank you very much.

COOPER: Safe travels.

KJELLANDER: Thank you.

COOPER: Anna-Lie Kjellander just wants to know if her daughter is alive or dead.

Our special expanded edition of 360 continues. An American couple who literally grabbed their kids, ran for their lives. Everything around them sucked out to sea. For them, a happy ending.

Plus, survival turns to desperation. Literally millions of people tonight scrambling for any amount of food or water. Relief organizations overwhelmed. We'll take a closer look at what's being done to help.

Also tonight, children of the storm. Thousands left orphaned, and relief agencies flooded with calls from American families who want to adopt. Tonight, is it really the best way to help? We'll try to look at that with an expert.

Covering all the angles. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: You know, it's so disturbing, as we get these pieces of video each day, and you don't know what happened to the people in them. I mean, you saw those two little kids being swept away. Thankfully, the camera pans over a little bit later. You see that they did get out. They were climbing up that wall. But we don't know their names. We don't know who they are, and we don't know where they are right now.

Again, so many days after the wave struck, we're still getting videos like that every day. And as we are watching, sitting here mesmerized, how suddenly it all happened. A fun family home video suddenly records a horrible hiccup of history.

Every day now, we're also seeing families returning from the disaster zone, families very happy to be home, to say the least.

On Tuesday, you may remember, we talked with a man named James Firmage in Bangkok. They've now arrived back in California, James and his wife, Vivian, and their two young daughters. They were in Phuket when the waves hit. We were there for the happy homecoming. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There they are!

COOPER: The moment the Firmage family stepped off the plane in San Francisco, their fears of the last four days were erased. James, Vivian, Caitlin, and Michaela had to literally run for their lives and away from the wall of water that caused so much death and despair.

On Tuesday, James Firmage told us what they saw and heard when the tsunami struck.

JAMES FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR (on phone): I heard this sound that can only be described as perhaps a jet engine bearing down on us, and trees starting to break. And then what looked like a wave that was 10 to 15 feet, not in the traditional sense of a wave, but water, a mass of water, rushing at us, closing a gap.

COOPER: Their hotel was crushed, their belongings washed away. The family spent the night on top of a hill with other survivors, marveling at their good fortune and feeling for the local people whose suffering had just begun.

JAMES FIRMAGE: They were so generous. They were missing village, they were missing their families, and they would -- they brought up food and supplies, and we all sort of camped out on top of this jungle.

COOPER: James and Vivian tried to shield their little girls from the worst of the horrors, but some memories will probably never die. For them, now more than ever, there truly is no place like home.

VIVIAN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I can't describe it. I just -- I'm just so glad to be home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, James and Vivian Firmage and their daughters, Caitlin and Michaela, join me now from San Francisco.

It is so great to see you all four here safe and sound.

When -- Vivian, when you stepped off that plane, how did it feel?

VIVIAN FIRMAGE: It was great. It was just nice to finally touch ground after all that traveling, all that we went through to get there.

COOPER: You know, James, we spoke to you on the phone Tuesday evening. For any of our viewers who weren't watching, though, tell us again what you saw, what happened to you and your family as that wave hit.

JAMES FIRMAGE: The wave didn't appear right away. What we noticed was the water slowly draining out to the sea, and the tide, which was normally up, and the longtail boats, which were buoyant on the water, were now stuck in sand.

And the locals were looking with sort of wonderment and anxiousness at the tide that was going out rather than coming in. And we looked, and we sort of didn't pay that much attention. And then we noticed the water going all the way out and exposing the reef, which we had never -- which we hadn't seen before.

Then the water came back in sort of in a swirling motion, like -- not unlike when water goes down a toilet bowl. And then the water went parallel to the shore. A woman taps my daughter, youngest daughter, on the shoulder and said, Come back. My wife, Vivian, went to collect her. And then we looked up, and the water now was coming at us, still maybe three to four feet, just after -- like when a wave crashes and starts to roll in.

At that point, I turned my attention sideways to talk to the lady who was braiding hair, and she had horror in her eyes, wide-eyed. She ran around me, and we heard the term "Run," and the locals started running. And at that point, we ran about as fast as we could, still thinking, Well, it's just going to be a large wave, and we'll be all right. We'll just run just to be away from it.

Well, after running about 100 yards, I could hear this engine roar, this sound not unlike a jet engine starting to life. And that sounded very unnatural to me.

And next thing I know, my daughter in front of me, Michaela, dropped her journal. I could hear the sound. I said, Don't pick it up. Run. And I don't know what I -- why I did, I picked it up. That was silly.

Then I turned around my shoulder, and all I could see was brown water, 10 to 15 feet tall, a massive wall rushing towards us. At that point, I turned, and we ran, all of us, serpentine through a village.

And then I thought, OK, well, maybe the village will protect us. And then I heard snapping, which was probably palm trees, and then the houses that were one-story bungalows, virtually exploding behind us. Things were flying in the air. I could feel on the back of my neck that the water was getting closer.

For whatever fortune, whatever happened, we ran up to a staircase, and our staircase was a restaurant in the shape of a boat. We ran past that up, I got up to maybe 10 to 12 feet high and turned around, and the water went rushing past us.

COOPER: Caitlin, when the first wave hit, you and your dad and Michaela and your mom were separated for a bit. What -- that must have been really scary for you.

CAITLIN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Well, when we were up at a high bungalow, me and my mom panicked, because we heard a second one was coming. And so me and my mom ran up the hill barefoot, trying to get away from the second wave. But my mom -- my dad and my sister stayed down in the bungalow. And I was crying up on top of the hill because I was very worried. I felt like I had lost them. I didn't know whether the wave had gotten there, or if it hadn't, and I was just really worried and very upset.

COOPER: Wow, you're really brave. Michaela, I know you keep a journal. I know you dropped the journal in the water. I heard you said that this morning, the waves, it may have been too scary to write about it. Do you think you'll maybe write about it one day?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I don't know. I think I might.

COOPER: What do you normally write about?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- What?

COOPER: What do you normally write about?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: I usually write about happy things, and I don't usually write about scary things.

COOPER: That's a very wise thing to do. What do you remember from the morning? What was the scariest thing for you?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: The noise.

COOPER: Vivian, was that -- you're shaking your head as well, you're nodding. Was the noise for you one of the things?

VIVIAN FIRMAGE: It was unbelievable, the noises behind us. And I was running, bracing myself for something to hit us, either the water or a tree or -- It was, I mean, undescribable on how loud it was. And it just being right behind us.

And I knew Caitlin was ahead of me, and I fell at one point, and she stopped. And I told her to keep running. And when I got up to look back where Jamie and Michaela were, I saw how close the wave was to them, especially to Michaela.

And I just kept screaming to pick Michaela up, because I didn't think she'd make it. And it was right behind us. But people weren't so lucky that were running with us. And we're just thankful the four of us got there. And the separation, yes, it was tough for a little while, but I knew that they were probably OK where they were, because people were coming up and said it hadn't gotten there yet.

And we were eventually reunited, and not everyone was so lucky.

COOPER: You know, James, one of the things you talked about the other night when I spoke with you on the phone that really moved me and really stayed in my mind, I've been thinking about it a lot since then, was your immediate concern for the people left behind, for the Thai people, who opened up their homes, opened up their hearts to you, and helped you, even though their homes were destroyed, even though their hearts were broken.

JAMES FIRMAGE: Yes, I can't imagine that, if you had just lost your entire worldly possessions and perhaps more, parents, children, that you would turn around and offer kindness in the form of food or drinks for our kids. One man went down to the village, or whatever was left of it -- I don't know how he did it -- and brought up rice. You know, some of the best-tasting rice we've ever had. And he didn't have to do that. I don't know why he did it.

And I think it's a testament to the Thai people, the generosity of spirit, just a magical, magical group. COOPER: Well, Vivian and James, and especially Caitlin and Michaela, you all have a lot of courage. And we're glad you're home safe and sound, and we appreciate you being with us tonight.

JAMES FIRMAGE: Thank you.

CAITLIN FIRMAGE: Thank you.

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. Good luck to you all in the future.

Next on this special edition of 360, the race to save the living. Can governments and groups get the relief where it's needed in time?

Also tonight, children of the storm, and families around the world offering to adopt them. But is it really the best way to help? We'll try to take a closer look, talk to the experts about that.

Also, a little later tonight, animals and a sixth sense. Did some animals know a disaster was coming? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back to our special two-hour edition of 360, the fourth this week in our coverage of an event the scope of which only seems to grow each night.

The numbers of dead are already beyond comprehension, but their fate has already been determined. The concern now is for the living, numbering in the millions, who have no food, no water, and little hope.

One resident of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, the ground zero of both the tsunami and the massive earthquake which caused it, is quoted as saying, "Some cars come by and throw food like that. The fastest get the food. The strong one wins. The elderly and the injured don't get anything. We feel like dogs."

Mike Chinoy is there now.

Mike, what have you seen today?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson.

Well, it's been another eventful night. We -- it's about 7:30 in the morning here, and about three and a half hours ago, we had another aftershock.

Let me show you where we are and how we're operating here. This is the compound of the governor of Banda Aceh, and we've been sleeping right out here, outside, because of the concerns about aftershocks. We've set up our TV equipment here. That's our videophone and our satellite phones. It's all powered off generators, because there's very little electricity in this compound, even. It comes on and off occasionally. Outside, there's none whatsoever. And we're sharing this compound with Indonesians who have lost everything. Behind me over there, you can see some folks. They've been camped out. This is some kind of little amphitheater. I think they work in this compound. And they've lost everything. They've been camped out here ever since we got here. They are sleeping over there, washing over there. This has become kind of the unofficial center for the media here. If you turn the camera this way, you'll see some satellite dishes also powered by generators, and over here is a hall where about 100 journalists have made their kind of informal headquarters.

They're working and they're sleeping here. And we started the first night to sleep here. But then the second night, we had three big aftershocks. And when these aftershocks happened, people have been racing out in the middle of the night. Some folks have been, understandably, very anxious and agitated. So we moved outside. And last night, when the quake woke me up, I turned my head, and I saw dozens of people coming out of that door.

But this is also a place that has become something of a nerve center for relief efforts beyond those satellite dishes. On the other side, Indonesian officials had been gathering and meeting with representatives from the international aid agencies trying to plot a course of action to get aid to people here. And slowly, at least here in Banda Aceh, that's beginning to happen. UN officials were telling me the single top priority here is to get drinking water to as many people as possible, clean drinking water, to prevent the spread of epidemics. Anderson?

COOPER: Mike Chinoy from Banda Aceh tonight. And there are hundreds of thousands of people from that region still unaccounted for. They simply do not know -- we've been saying this three nights in a row. Right in the epicenter, right where the first waves hit, those are some of the most remote areas. Some of the areas that relief hasn't gotten to. And the fear is those places are just decimated. And if that is the case and the people there are dead, the numbers, the death toll could rise dramatically.

There's so much fear still among the survivors of the wave. So it should come as no surprise, the hint of another tsunami sent tens of thousands of people in three countries running for their lives. Take a look at this. A false alert created mass panic in Thailand, in southern India, and in Sri Lanka. People running, desperate, holding hands, trying to get up, running away from what they thought was another tsunami. To make matters worse, it was false information based on erroneous information from a group that claims to be able to predict earthquakes. Bottom line is that technology does not exist.

There were four aftershocks in the region, but none powerful enough to cause a tsunami. It's just one of the examples of the survivors' stress. Experts we've been talking to who work with relief agencies tell us a lot of victims right now are suffering psychological trauma and they may not even know it.

Joining me on the phone from Colombo, Sri Lanka is Steve Matthews. He's with the world response team. Steve, thanks very much for being with us. I know it's a difficult time for you. It's often hard for us to understand really the mental devastation endured by those who are still alive. Describe to us, if you can, the really kind of post traumatic stress disorders that you've witnessed just the past few days.

STEVE MATTHEWS, WORLD VISION (via telephone): Well, the human spirit always seems to rise to the occasion. What I've witnessed here I can only compare to the many other emergencies I've been to in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, earthquakes in Latin America, et cetera. And that is in those the human spirit seems (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and it was almost (UNINTELLIGIBLE), people had been able to pick up their lives and get back on with it. But here, everything is so daunting. They're trying very much to put back their lives together by, you know, cleaning the streets, pulling the rubble up from their homes, but it's so big and so daunting, they seem to have hit a wall.

And often, you'll see them sitting in the rubble of their home basically doing nothing with a very vacant look on their face. One old woman south of Colombo on the seaside, she and her six sons survived, but they lost everything -- their homes, everything that they had ever had. And when we met her, she was just sitting in the rubble of her home with no idea what to do. So delivering humanitarian aid isn't always about bringing the material things. We also need to bring hope to these people which is so desperately lost for many of them.

COOPER: And bringing hope is not easy to do. I know you met a family of fishermen, and they're now afraid of the sea.

MATTHEWS: That's right. A mother, a father, and the three young daughters are living with 350 other people in a church run by the Don Bosco order of the Roman Catholic Church just north of Colombo. And sleeping on the floor of the church, but they lived on the seaside nearby, and the tsunami wiped out all of their homes. As I talked to the mother, she told me how they're terrified of the sea now. The place that they had lived all of their lives. It's the same sea that gave them life every day. The same sea that her husband went to and went fishing all the time, they now see it as a very large and very threatening monster.

COOPER: So many stories like this. Steve Matthews from World Bision. We appreciate you joining us. We know it's a busy night for you. Thanks, Steve.

Thousands reaching out to adopt the orphans of the wave. But is it a good idea? Tonight an in depth look at the reality of disaster and what you can do to help.

And what happened to all the animals? Do they really possess a sixth sense for disasters? Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us live. This special edition of 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All week we've heard story after story and have seen the pictures of young kids, some who are missing a father or mother or both. These kids are now all alone, and they still face danger and the threat of disease, of course. And many people like yourselves at home watching us have seen these images and are now looking for ways to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): When you first hear the numbers, it sounds unbelievable. Some experts say there could be thousands of orphaned children, though nobody knows for sure. When you see their faces, the reality becomes too much to bear.

Many of our viewers have said they want to do something to help. After last night's broadcast, a number of you sent emails saying you want to open your hearts and homes to these devastated children. Michael Pesin(PH) of Maryland wrote us, "It was very heart-wrenching watching the show. I decided I want to adopt two kids and provide them a new life."

Albert and Dee Haas of Virginia wrote, "We are not rich or extremely well off, but we would like information on how to adopt up to four of the orphaned children."

The emails are moving, the sentiments very real. But is adoption the best thing for these children after the trauma they've experienced? If these kids truly have lost their parents, their homes, all they've known in their young lives, what do they really need right now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That, of course, is the question. Joining me from Washington to help answer the question, Sonia Khush, she's the program manager for emergency response for Save the Children. Sonia, thanks very much for joining us. So many of our viewers, they want to help. They say they're considering adopting these orphans. Is that in the kids' best interest?

SONIA KHUSH, "SAVE THE CHILDREN": We've actually received a lot of inquiries from very generous Americans who are interested in adopting these children. And I think it's a really true testament to the generous spirit of the public. However, Save the Children is a relief, recovery, and development organization. And based on our experience implementing relief programs, we found that children are best equipped to deal with the trauma of the situation they've gone through by staying in communities and environments that are familiar to them with perhaps extended family providing them support, surrounded in an environment where they speak the language and they know the culture. That seems to work really well in helping them overcome the trauma.

COOPER: Even before the tsunami, Indonesia required a two-year residency in Indonesia for foreign adoptions. Would they even want Americans to adopt these kids?

KHUSH: Well, I think that's an indication that adoption may not be very common in Indonesia and that they're concerned about the environment which Indonesian kids would grow up in, and I completely understand the sentiment of the public wanting to adopt Indonesian kids or Sri Lankan kids and bring them here and have a better life. But you really have to think about the environment they're growing up in and what it would mean to them to be uprooted from what's familiar and known to them and be taken to another place.

COOPER: How do they typically deal with orphaned kids in these communities?

KHUSH: Well, for example, I can speak to what's happening right now. I think it's a little too early to even say how many kids have been adopted. There is definitely an issue of separation, which relief agencies such as Save the Children are dealing with, and we're trying to trace kids that have been separated from their families and reunite them. And oftentimes, that takes a few weeks or even a few months to settle down before you can know who has been orphaned and who has not and what is the situation in the country. So right now, we're really focusing on tracing, on reunification and providing life saving support to families that have been affected by the conflict.

COOPER: So a group like Save the Children, how fast can you get into these communities, and what do you do once you're there?

KHUSH: Well, actually, Save the Children has been working in Aceh, Indonesia since the early '70s so we've been there for about 30 years now. We had 30 staff on the ground when the tsunami hit. Unfortunately, we lost one, and of course the other staff are dealing with a lot of trauma. But because we have that presence there, we know communities. We know the environment. We have three offices in Aceh. We're very well positioned to work with communities and strengthen communities so that they can then help the kids who have been traumatized.

COOPER: Sonia Khush, we appreciate you joining us. Thanks Sonia.

Besides adoption, you may be drawn another way, going there, seeing the heartache firsthand and volunteering to help strangers in need. We got a lot of emails from people wanting to do that. The reality is, according to relief agencies, the best thing that people can do right now is give money. The money is helping relief agencies with volunteers already on site, many of whom live in the region. If you're wondering (AUDIO GAP), you can go to CNN.com and click on the "How to Help" link. You may find some answers there.

Coming up next on this special edition of 360, a survivor's story, a pregnant mother with her family on vacation when the waves hit. Hear her tale of survival.

Plus the big question -- did the animals know disaster was coming? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: For many of the tsunami's victims, the horror struck at a time that was supposed to be carefree and relaxing. Iris Bilia is pregnant with twins. She and her family had gone to one last vacation in Thailand before she was due. She, of course, thought it would be peaceful and it was not. This is the video her husband Ron took when the wave hit. Ad you can see, there's water and debris all around, and people trying to make sense of what's going on. Iris Bilia is back at home in New York, safe and sound. She joins me now. Good to see you here alive and well. When that water came on, what did you think?

IRIS BILIA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I didn't see it. I was -- we were supposed to leave that afternoon, and I was packing in the bedroom. And my husband with my two girls eating breakfast, and when it hit -- I don't think he even saw it. But he saw this man running with crutches, and he was looking, and then he realized the water is gushing over and flooding the restaurant. So he ran with them, and then he came over to the room, and he told me, get out, get out. You have to see what's going on out there.

COOPER: It's hard to get a sense of the scope of devastation and the debris. As you were leaving, you were able to get out relatively quickly. What kind of debris did you see around you? What sort of impact?

BILIA: Exactly what you see in all the videos. These umbrellas, they seem like they're nothing, but they're these huge heavy wooden umbrellas, and they're floating like they're nothing. And all these lounge chairs. You know, the electricity went out when I left. It's just -- now I heard from other people that they might think this hotel is going to crumble down. And this is like a big concrete ...

COOPER: And you were taken by bus to another hotel. I understand you described it as a scene out of the Titanic. People sort of rushing to go get into this boat.

BILIA: We were up on a hill for quite some time, from 10:00 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. And the hotel manager came over and said, he thinks it's safe. He's not sure. But they invited us to come back and would transfer us to a different hotel. And there was no transportation whatsoever except for the hotel bus, taking people to the other hotel, which is the Hilton, and at that point people were waiting for the bus to come. And everybody's gathering up front.

And once it came, it was a scene from the Titanic. People were all over each other trying to get on top -- inside the bus. Myself and another woman, we sent our husbands outside the hotel to see if they can get maybe a taxi or tuk-tuk as it's called over there. But they ended up coming back with a bus that came back from the first group of people that it brought, and I was able to lift up my baby and give her ...

COOPER: You were a 5-year-old daughter may who was with you. She was keeping a journal all during this time and made some drawings. We're going to put them up on the screen. What do you see when you look at those pictures?

BILIA: Well, in general, we were in other locations, so she was showing different things, like going to -- riding an elephant and this and that. But this specific page that you're seeing, this rectangle thing next to the blue stuff on the left ...

COOPER: The blue is the water.

BILIA: ... is our hotel. And what she wrote -- she's 5 1/2, and she's writing phonetically. She wrote the tsunami giant wave flooded the hotel. And then the next thing you see is this funny hill, and it has the people on top of it, and on the right side in pink is like two chickens, you know.

COOOPER: How do you explain something like this to a 5-year-old?

BILIA: You don't. They see it. You don't really -- sorry. I'm getting emotional. You don't really explain it. They see it, and whatever they understand, they understand. And then in general, in the afternoon of that day, she started crying, and we told her, you know, look at us. Mom and dad are pretty calm. Why are you worried? She said, I don't know what's going to happen. Because there were rumors floating around another big wave was going to come at 3:00. So we were sitting up on a hill with a lot of other people waiting to see what was going on. In general, you don't. And now we came back, and everything is fine, and we sleep all four of us in the same bed. And every time we try to put her back in her bed, she comes back, and she says, I can't sleep. I have these nightmares. And we didn't really see all the devastation and the stories that you were showing on your show. We didn't. We didn't see bodies or casualties.

COOPER: You were lucky to get out so soon and lucky to be out safe and sound. Iris Bilia, we appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

BILIA: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Coming up next on this special edition of 360, animal instinct. Did some animals know there was a deadly surf about to hit? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The Indian government is looking to a newspaper report that its military was warned about the tsunami, but the warning wasn't passed on. That's being investigated.

And this may sound like a strange question, but as we continue to cover the story from all angles, so many people are wondering did animals sense danger and find safety ahead of the storm? Consider this. In Sri Lanka, accord to go one eye witness, most of the animals in the national wildlife sanctuary appear to have survived. An official was quoted as saying, "No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

We want to see if this is true. One man who knows animal behavior better than just about anyone is Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, he joins us from LA tonight. Jack, thanks for being with us. Do animals like elephants have a sixth sense? Do they sense danger?

JACK HANNA, "JACK HANNA'S ANIMAL ADVENTURES": Scientifically, well, no, nothing's been proved, but, yes, they do. Elephant have a feel in their feet. They can feel things miles a way. Their hearing is some of the greatest of any animal in the world. I just was in Phuket, and I saw these animals in the wild. You have got to remember something, when these animals, like an elephant, feel something, like in Africa or Asia when we're filming, the elephant will trumpet or raise up like this, and all of the sudden, then the giraffe will do the same things and certain birds. Actually, predator and prey will warn each other. Giraffes look up at the lion, lions will look at the giraffe, and then they take off. Something's going on here. And what happened, at Yala(PH) national park, what you're talking about, over 200 people lost their lives, and as you said, no animals. So obviously somebody knew something.

COOPER: This may be a dumb question. What about domestic animals, pets? Are there warnings people can get from dogs or their cats?

HANNA: In the earthquake in Los Angeles, people noticed their dogs several minutes before the earthquake. Certain animals, especially dolphins and birds, have an electromagnetic - the can feel. They have a compass in their brain. How do birds know to go north and south that type of thing? Obviously, it's weather, but also it's an electromagnetic field so they can sometimes sense it. In the ocean for example, what happened, what I think happened is obviously with a big earthquake out there in the ocean, the fish and dolphins especially saw what was happening.

And therefore the birds that hunt the fish say, what's going on down there? Birds then of course would come inland and warn the animals that are inland as well. It's almost like a chain of events that happened right there in a matter of minutes. These animals know. As a matter of fact, you and I -- mankind, if you think back a while, think of the Native Americans. When I'm out in Montana hiking where I live and I'm at a camp ground, and I hear squirrels chirping, why is it doing that? That means it's a grizzly or something around my campground. It could be a cougar, really, whatever it might be.

So, really, what we've lost as human beings, we've lost that sense, so to speak, that animals still have of listen, and nature tells you when something's getting ready to happen. And I think that's what hopefully we now are listening, and someone is telling us, can we continue to destroy our coral reefs? I'm not, Anderson, a person that runs around - and I'm sure I do as many things -- I don't recycle as much as I should and everything. I'm not saying poo-poo on everybody, but with the loss of coral reefs and with the loss of mangrove swamps, the big thing now is to build as close to the ocean as you can, if we have coral reefs to stop the waves and then mangroves, obviously, a 30 foot wave is not going to be stopped by everything. But it will be helped a great deal by what we're destroying on these coastlines throughout the world.

COOPER: Interesting point. Jack Hanna, do appreciate you joining us. It's a fascinating topic. I wish we had more time. Jack, thanks very much.

HANNA: Thank you.

COOPER: In the next hour of this expanded edition of 360, Julienne's (ph) choice. A mother of two little boys. She was holding on to one, she had to let go of the other to save herself and her baby. She shares her horrifying emotions. The ordeal in her own words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Do you remember the image we began this program with about an hour ago? This image, a little girl completely draining a cup of milk? Maybe it didn't seem like much to hold on to. But it is, terrible to say, more than many others have right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Every picture tells a story of courage, of shock, of loss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Ours is a total loss. I lost my wife and a daughter. Everything is lost.

COOPER: We focus on the headlines, of course, the staggering numbers, the overwhelming need. But look behind the headlines, and that's where you'll find where the real personal tragedy lies. In tens of thousands of homes and huts and broken hearts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Please save me. I've lost everything. I have nothing now.

COOPER: In communities we haven't yet heard from, in places with no names, there are tens of thousands unaccounted for. Lone survivors, families torn apart. People with nothing left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I lost all my relatives, including my wife and grandchildren. All my houses have been washed away completely. And whatever little I had was stolen or lost.

COOPER: Thousands upon thousands of the dead have been buried in mass graves in Indonesia. No names, no markers. We may never know who they were or the lives they led. In India, bodies are cremated in fields, a final, if hurried, gesture of respect to mothers and fathers and friends. In Sri Lanka, where nearly 25,000 people have died, we're told that thousands of white flags hang outside homes, a sign death has come to call.

Fathers no longer able to work, to feed their families, now look to the skies for help. Amidst the water and the worst, there is survival as well. A fisherman who clung to his boat for three days is finally found and rescued. Stories of generosity, doctors taking to the streets to treat those who can't make it to hospitals, doing what they can to stem the spread of disease.

Moments of hope, moments of compassion, that remind us to look beyond the headlines, beyond the numbers, look at the faces of those still living, the faces determined to go on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Instead of PAULA ZAHN NOW, our special expanded edition of 360 continues.

In the next hour, stories of remarkable courage, stories of terrible pain and need as well, small stories, very personal, human stories that may not make some headlines, but they make up the mosaic of a paradise lost. We'll meet two Americans who rode out the tsunami in a sailboat, then became heroes to dozens of others whom they rescued. And we'll hear the words of that woman who faced a dreadful choice, "Sophie's Choice," if you will, in the surging water. Which of her two children would she save and which would she let go?

We want to start with a sign of hope, however, tonight, a scene in London's Heathrow Airport today. Take a look, a family reunion, a mother greeting her son just back from Sri Lanka; 24-year-old Shenth Ravindra narrowly escaped death aboard a Sri Lankan train, a train that was called, ironically, the Queen of the Sea. What happened on board that train is just now becoming clear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): At first, all we saw was this aerial shot. In the upper part of your screen you can see the long cars of the train pushed over by the crush of water, wheels and axles ripped off by the waves, the tracks twisted like a hideous roller coaster. Flesh and bones, however, broke much more easily than steel.

There were some 1,000 people on this train. As many as 900 were killed. Hundreds of corpses are still pinned in the wreckage. The smell is overwhelming. There's no heavy equipment, so for now they're doing what they can with chain saws. Shenth Ravindra cut his foot badly escaping from the train. He's in a wheelchair, but he's alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Alive.

And I spoke with him and his mother earlier today. I started by asking him what happened when the first wave hit the train.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHENTH RAVINDRA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Well, when it hit the train, it sort of pushed the train, shunted the train off the track. And, as the water started rushing in, it actually tilted the train onto a 45- degree angle.

Basically, if you can imagine, the train was like this and then it ended up like that. And then we had to climb out one of the exits.

COOPER: Were people taking this nonchalantly? Were they screaming? What was the atmosphere like? RAVINDRA: It was anything but nonchalant, Anderson, a lot of people screaming. There was a lot of panicking, as you can imagine. It was a terrifying situation.

COOPER: So, you're sitting on top of the train after the first wave. Then the second wave comes. What happens?

RAVINDRA: I heard a lot of screaming and shouting and then an almighty crash and bang. And I looked towards the sea and the horizon completely changed.

A wall of water was basically taking up about 85 percent of the horizon. It was moving very quickly towards us. As you can imagine, everyone around us started screaming incessantly. Loads of kids started holding on to me, grabbing any limb that they could find of me.

I basically steadied myself on to the carriage because I knew that the force of the wave against the carriage was going to be quite tremendous. And, as I steadied myself, the water came and hit. It pushed the carriage further inland to a point where it got wedged against a house. And from that point, I was able to jump from the top of the train on to the house and up the roof.

And I sort of perched myself at the highest point of the house.

COOPER: You know, we've been talking to a lot of people who have lived through this and hearing about others who didn't live through it. And it seems what makes the difference, it seems often so arbitrary. Small decisions that you make, personal decisions you make to jump onto a roof or to stay on the roof or to leave the roof often is the difference between who lives and who dies.

You decided after a while the roof wasn't safe and you jumped off.

RAVINDRA: At that moment in time, the water level was rising quite quickly. Also, the foundations of the house was starting to rock. Tiles were starting to fall.

A coconut tree was cutting itself through the roof of the house. And my primary concern at that moment in time was whether the house would collapse and I would collapse with it.

COOPER: And in jumping off that roof, you cut your foot pretty badly.

RAVINDRA: I have quite a deep cut on the sole of my foot. It went straight to my bone and cut a lot of muscles and tendons.

COOPER: At this point, as you're walking away, is there screaming? Is there pandemonium?

RAVINDRA: Yes.

I mean, I wasn't walking. I was sort of having to trudge my way through about around waist-level water. And floating on this water was a lot of corpses. So I was hoping to make my way through there. And the background noise to this was obviously a lot of screaming, a lot of shouting and a lot of panic. I made a conscious effort to look at a blank space in front of me, not really focusing on anything.

It was a case of just walking dead straight focused on the plan of getting to -- getting as far away from the seashore as possible.

COOPER: Niru, when you heard the tsunami had hit Sri Lanka, you knew your son was there. What went through your mind?

NIRU RATNAM, MOTHER OF SHENTH: At about 7:00, I heard that something was going on in Sri Lanka. So, suddenly, I thought about Shenth, as to what is going to happen to him or what has happened to him.

COOPER: What was that reunion like? I know he came back just recently. You were reunited at the airport. It must have been quite a moment for you.

RATNAM: Oh, definitely. I am ever so relieved that God had saved him and thankful to God.

COOPER: Are you going to let him travel anymore?

RATNAM: Well, it's all -- it's up to him. He's not going to listen to me. Even if I tell him not to travel, I don't think he's going to listen to me.

COOPER: Shenth, do you want to just stay in England now for a little while?

RAVINDRA: I am glad to be back home, so I'll enjoy my time back home. But, definitely, I want to go out there and see the world again.

COOPER: Well, Shenth and Niru, we appreciate you talking with us.

RATNAM: Yes.

RAVINDRA: Thank you, Anderson.

RATNAM: Thank you so much, Anderson.

COOPER: Shenth Ravindra is home tonight. But across Asia, it's estimate 5 million people cannot go home at all, their homes destroyed or damaged, inaccessible or just simply gone.

Refugees gathering in camps now and temples are simply under the open sky.

Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is watching this part of the story unfold in Sri Lanka -- Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson. Let me just set this up here a little bit. We are at a Buddhist temple, Malagooda Payagala (ph). About two kilometers behind me, you are going to find the ocean, from which about 3,000 people were displaced and came to this particular settlement camp.

Several of these camps in this area, let me just give you a little bit of a tour around you, about 3,000 people, as I said. The first thing you'll notice, it doesn't seem nearly big enough. A shelter that housed several hundred people, slept in there last night. Another shelter over here and most people sleeping on the floor on mats.

You see a couple of water tanks around us as well. There is clean water as far as we can tell, obviously, a lot of people milling around. Now, we talked -- I know you showed these images of a girl drinking milk, for example, Anderson. There's not supplies like milk here. They do have water and hot water if they want it. They are getting good. There seems to be a lack of antibiotics, certain medications.

Yesterday, for the first time, doctors arrived here. Four doctors from the U.K. arrived to try and dispense some medical care, as well as some medications. Also, some supplies starting to come in for the first time four to five days after the tsunami hit.

Again, it is unclear, Anderson, how long these people will stay here, again, several hundred people staying in this particular stretch over here. You can see right behind me, Anderson, there is a pile of clothing in this particular structure. There are some donations coming in not only of the clean water and food, but also of clothing as well.

But if there's a lack of something, it is probably the medications, even things like 25-cent antibiotics that could probably take care of some of these problems.

A Buddhist temple, Malagooda Payagala (ph), this is where we stand right now. This has become instantly a huge settlement camp for about 3,000 displaced, Anderson.

COOPER: How people respond to suffering and pain and loss is affected by their culture and whether they're demonstrable or not. Standing there talking with these people, is there an overwhelming sense of loss, of pain or is there a sense of acceptance? What are you seeing? What are you hearing?

GUPTA: You bring up an excellent point, Anderson. The culture is very different in this part of the world.

We're surprised by what we see. And what I mean by that is there's not the sense of despair. If you look at some of the faces of people standing around, they've just woken up this morning, but we spent some time talking to them, spending time with them yesterday. In fact, they're encouraged by the fact that they have a place to live. It's really striking in some ways. They're encouraged by the fact that you start to see these boxes come in, boxes of relief, some medication, some food, some water, really glass half-full sort of society. The other thing that really struck us, Anderson, as we've been reporting this story, is that it took a while for some of the foreign aid to get here, but that didn't stop the Sri Lankans from sort of organizing themselves, setting up command centers, if you will, to try and take care of their own.

It wasn't easy for them. This is not a country that's built with a significant public health infrastructure, but they did what they could. And because of those efforts, a lot of these people will probably live. Having said that, Anderson, that's the rosy side of things. Having said that, over the next few days, weeks and months, it is unclear what is going to happen to the majority of these people.

And I think what is frustrating for all of us here on our team is that there is no plan really for them in the long term, no housing, no jobs. There's a good chance that because of the cascade of events that the tsunami has caused, a lot of these people aren't going to survive this, Anderson.

COOPER: It's an ominous note to end on, but we'll end it there.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

Our next stop is Indonesia, where the earthquakes and tsunamis killed nearly 80,000. And, again, those are early day's numbers. The numbers, at this point, they are just meaningless. There are so many people unaccounted for. Relief workers are only now getting to some of the more remote areas. And what they're finding is simply -- well, it's beyond words, loss on a scale we have not yet seen.

Atika Shubert traveled to see for herself what's happened to Meulaboh on the island of Sumatra. Now, keep in mind as you watch this, there used to be cities in this place. Now hardly anything is left.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To understand the level of devastation here, see it from the air, more than 80 percent of the structures destroyed. Because of its location, this was the first area to be hit. Because of its isolation, it was the last to receive help.

We flew in with two private planes that hoped to deliver food and water by being the first to land on the last one-quarter of the town's airstrip still intact. It was close, but they made it. There are few words to describe the total devastation on the ground, multi-story buildings reduced to cement foundations, markets, schools, demolished. Bodies swell in the baking son. Death toll estimates are anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000, sparking fears that anywhere between a quarter to one-half of the town's population may have been killed.

This survivor was so bewildered, so desperate, he turned to visiting journalists for comfort.

"Everything is gone," this man cries. "All my children are gone."

Aid is finally trickling in by sea and by air. Now that pilots know they can safely land on the damaged airstrip, more will come. An army helicopter has arrived with aid and a navy ship unloads supplies in the harbor. Because of the insurgency, there were already a lot of military personnel in the region. They are the only infrastructure left. Everything else has been destroyed.

Soldiers distribute what they can, despite dwindling fuel supplies. They too have been hard hit, hundreds of their colleagues missing, believed dead, many of their wives and children gone. But the biggest surprise in this isolated and decimated town is the will to survive. Surrounded by death and destruction, with little or no aid from outside up until now, survivors still manage to pick through what is left, looking for anything that will help them to carry on.

Atika Shubert, Meulaboh, CNN, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It's just remarkable when you see those pictures and you just imagine that it's more than four days since the tsunami hit. Those are the first planes that are getting into that region. I don't know if you saw the size of those planes. One of them looked to be about a Cessna, the size of a Cessna. You know, 50,000 people in need and you can only imagine what it's been like for them for the last four days. Where do they sleep? What are they eating? What fresh water can they get? It's one of those things that's just hard for me, at least, to comprehend.

People in Indonesia are struggling, no doubt about it, struggling to bury the dead, struggling in so many different ways, just trying to get the bare necessities of food and water. Consider this. A Jakarta newspaper estimates that at least 100,000 Indonesians have lost their jobs and their incomes. The hotels, the resorts, the restaurants where they worked simply don't exist anymore.

As I've said, but I think it bears repeating, there are hundreds of thousands of Indonesians unaccounted for right now. We don't know how many are dead. We don't know how many of those missing are still alive.

Conservationist Mike Griffiths has flown over areas where whole towns and cities have, in his words, vaporized. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE GRIFFITHS, CONSERVATIONIST: I was stunned. I never expected that the devastation should be so complete. And I didn't believe that the tsunami itself could go so far inland.

Some of the damage was complete right until 1.5, 2 kilometers inland from the coast. What you had before was a land and rice fields and coconut groves extending right to the coast. And it was a really emerald green kind of environment, very beautiful. And the infrastructure, of course, was complete. You had clearly defined roads and bridges and so on.

Now what you're left with are the pictures that you described to me, which I took two days ago.

Most of the people that lived near the coast, and that's, of course, the majority of people in this part of Aceh, as Indonesia, most people are either fishermen or rice planters. And these people were just completely, they have completely vanished. Literally, there are about four or five towns on the west coast with populations of at least 10,000 people, they have been eradicated. They have been literally wasted and they no longer exist.

About 200 kilometers of coastline have been literally devastated. There's no buildings of any value left. And some of it wasn't just ordinary villages with nice stilts and thatched roofs. This was solid concrete structures, which have been totally leveled. And all that you've got left are the foundations and sometimes not even the foundations.

I've seen plane crashes. I've seen all sorts of problems, and big floods. We had a flood a couple of years ago in Sumatra which killed 300 people, but the scale of this is something which I don't think has ever been surpassed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, you can see the devastation, no matter how high you go. Take a look at these satellite pictures from the Digital Globe.

They show Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Now, the top picture shows the downtown neighborhood before the tsunami. Look closely at the bottom picture. About half the houses are destroyed, debris piled up everywhere. Here's another set of before-and-after images. Look in the upper right. What you see is a mosque. Same picture shows what it's like now. It's a little hard to tell, but you do get a sense of the devastation.

The mosque has been severely damaged and so has the compound around it. Now, in the final set, focus on the barrier island in the top picture. Now, as you can see in the bottom picture, much of the island has been flooded or washed away. It's simply gone.

Coming up next on this special expanded edition of 360, zeroing in on some very human stories behind the headlines, a mother forced to make a terrible choice, which child to save? We'll hear her story in her own words.

Also ahead, a fisherman who made his meager living from the sea. Now it has become a killer, a killer he fears.

And a desperate search for clues half a world away, following the fate of one missing American. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It really sucked really far back out, and then you could just see this ridge of water. And then one of the locals tapped my little one and said, start to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, we haven't heard much from Malaysia, although at least 66 deaths are reported there. And these new pictures come from Malaysia's Penang Island. You're about to see some kids trying to run to safety there on the left-hand side of your screen. They are swept away.

Later on in the video, you do see that the kids are -- and we think it's the same kids -- climbing up a fence nearby, so we're assuming they're OK, but the truth is we honestly don't know. We don't know who they are. We don't know their names and we don't know what's happened to them. And there are just countless stories like that right now.

We're told that of the nearly 117,000 confirmed deaths across Asia and Africa and India, perhaps one-third of them are children. They're also the most vulnerable to disease right now.

Our next story does involve two children and their mother who had a split-second decision to make, a horrible choice, let go of one child, so the other child might live. Now, truth be told, when we first heard this story, we almost didn't want to hear it. We were fearful of how it turned out. But I do want to tell you, it does have a happy ending -- I want you to know that in advance -- for the woman and for her kids. But, still, the choice she was forced to make in a split-second, it's hard to imagine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Far from their home in Australia, the Searle family enjoyed Christmas in Phuket. For Jillian, her husband Brad and their two little boys, Lachie and Blake, it was a very special treat.

On Sunday morning, the day after Christmas Jillian and the boys had just finished breakfast and were enjoying the early morning sunshine at the Holiday Inn pool. Brad ran up to the room to get a diaper for Blake when suddenly the water rushed in. Jillian says she acted on instinct.

JILLIAN SEARLE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: This big wall of water just coming straight for us and we just started running.

COOPER: As the first monster wave engulfed his family, Brad watched helpless from a hotel balcony above the pool. Down below, Jillian clung to her two children as the water swirled around them.

SEARLE: I had both of them in my hands, and one in each arm and then we started going under.

COOPER: Her strength fading, Jillian faced an agonizing decision, a decision no one should ever have to make, release one child to save another.

SEARLE: I knew I had to let go of one of them. And I just thought, I had better let go of the one that is the oldest.

COOPER: The oldest was Lachie, just 5, but he couldn't swim. Jillian passed Lachie off to a nearby woman and begged the stranger to hold on tight, but the water's power ripped him away.

Brad finally reached Jillian and Blake. And they scrambled to safety on top of some playground equipment, but there was no sign of Lachie. They began a desperate search.

SEARLE: I was screaming trying to find him. And we thought he was dead.

COOPER: Two hours later, the couple had nearly given up hope, but, miraculously, an exhausted Lachie was found in a flooded room clinging to a door handle and he was pulled to safety. He later told his dad that he survived by dog-paddling as fast as he could.

Now back in Perth, Australia, where they're reunited with family and friends, Lachie knows he is one lucky little boy and Jillian counts her blessings that her heart-wrenching decision had a happy ending.

SEARLE: It was just horrible. I'm just so thankful that I have still got my two kids with me. I never thought that both survived.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And they both did survive.

Two nights ago, we spoke with an American father who was about to make the long journey to Thailand to search for his missing son. At that point, Dr. Ed Aleo had last heard from Ed Jr. on Christmas, 12 hours before the tsunami hit.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ED ALEO SR., SON MISSING IN THAILAND: My plans are to find my son. And I'm going to find him.

COOPER: It's OK. Take your time.

ALEO: He's experienced. He knows what he's doing. I have a lot of confidence in my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, Dr. Ed Aleo has made it to Bangkok. He joins us now on the phone.

Ed, how are you holding up?

ALEO: Doing pretty well, Anderson. Thank you.

COOPER: You plan to go to the island where your son was last seen. Have you heard anything new about him?

ALEO: Well, I'm leaving here to go to Phuket. And then from Phuket, I plan to go to Copinyon (ph).

COOPER: There are many people I know searching for their loved ones trying to contact the embassy. Have you been able to make any calls or has anyone from your family been able to get anywhere in trying to sort of get the word out?

ALEO: I've been traveling for the last 30 hours. Right now, I think I'm running on adrenaline. But I did receive a phone call this morning about 3:00 in the morning from a reporter who said that my son made a phone call to a family member, but I was not able to verify that. And that's great news for me. For New Year's Eve, that's a great piece of information, so I'm excited.

COOPER: Well, that would be fantastic. And, God, we hope that's true.

When you finally get -- you're going to Phuket. Are you then going to sort of just see what the situation is there? Or are you going to immediately try to get out to this island?

ALEO: When I get to Phuket, I will probably check in with the authorities first. And then my goal is to go Ragan (ph) and then see if I can go from there to Copinyon (ph) or try his cell phone again. I haven't been able to try his cell phone. So, hopefully, I'll be able to ring him up again.

COOPER: Well, Ed, we wish you luck and we'll be following the story. And Godspeed. Good luck to you, Ed Aleo.

ALEO: Thank you very much, Anderson. I appreciate all your help and your interest.

COOPER: All right, we'll keep following it, Ed. Thanks.

360 next, having so little and losing it all. Now the survival of the poorest is at stake. We're going to focus on the fears of one small fishing village and the people in it.

Also coming up, they're the very essence of humanity, good samaritans pouring into the disaster zone trying to help. We'll tell their story ahead.

And a couple's brush with death at sea as we close in on these very human, very personal tales of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUTHIPONG PHA-OPAS, FATHER (through translator): I was frightened. I did not think I would survive. The rescue team found my son in the mangrove, not me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, some help is getting through to the survivors in the disaster zone. In Indonesia, where nearly 80,000 people died, military transport planes delivered supplies today to Medan. And, in India, where more than 7,000 have died, relief supplies reached the southern Tamil Nadu state today.

Around the world relief, efforts are gaining momentum. No doubt about it. Nations have promised more than $280 million and the U.N. said today that the World Bank will release $250 million for the relief effort. American companies, including Wal-Mart, Citigroup, Pepsico and ExxonMobil, have also promised a total of about $60 million in help. Drug giant Pfizer alone has pledged $35 million, equaling the amount pledged by the U.S. government.

Canada, we should point out. We have a lot of Canadian viewers who have been e-mailing us, telling us to say how much Canada has pledged. They've pledged more than $40 million. The hundreds of thousands of survivors will need that help and much, much more to survive and to start their lives over.

In India, along the country's southeast coast, the story, it's a story just repeated in village after village.

Ram Ramgopal reports now from one of those villages on the Indian coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A cry for help in a devastated fishing village. This woman grieves for her mother.

Her neighbor, Sumpat Kamar (ph), who made his living fishing for sharks, thought he understood the ocean. He still cannot believe this much damage was done in just 10 minutes. Sumpat picks his way through the streets of his village in southern India, where the tsunami raced in, wrecking houses and pulling the weakest and the youngest to a watery death.

On the street where he lived, he shows us where the water rose. Another one of his neighbors even broke the tiles off his roof to perch his family on top. Sumpat, whose own family has been in fishing for scores of generations, was in a larger hub, but miles away. He managed to escape, but five of his family members died.

The sea is like a mother. The land our father, he says. We love the sea and respect it like God, but now we are wary.

His savings all, but gone. The shark catchers live in the clothes he was in on the day of the disaster. He hasn't even had a chance to buy new footwear.

We are petrified, he says. We wonder now can we continue our livelihood on the high seas?

(on camera): The awesome force of the tsunami could lift 4 ton boats like these some 50 meters from the sea that way. The killer wave has also had a profound impact on the lives of countless people.

(voice-over): In the oldest and largest Hindu temple in Nagupatina (ph), thousands of fisher folk gathered for aid and relief. The old, the young, the injured, all displaced from their homes in another fishing village. Every person here has lost a relative, but there's no time to mourn. Life is a new struggle.

Many here say they're afraid of what the sea has turned into. They found refuge, though, in this temple dedicated to a local saint for fishermen. Ram Ramgopal, Nagupatina (ph), CNN, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next, what do Americans do who are searching for the thousands of Americans unaccounted for? We're going to introduce you to the man at the center of so much hope and so much sorrow.

Also tonight, Thai citizens bearing the brunt of death still rushing to help terrified tourists in need. Remarkable stories.

And an American's dash to avoid disaster an save the lives of the littlest victims. Our special edition of 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back.

In this half hour we're going to meet the brother of a missing American. And we're going to tell you the story of some perfect strangers who are willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.

First, let's take a look at the top developments -- the latest developments in "The Reset." The confirmed death count is approaching 119,000, the number just updated a few moments ago. There are certain -- no end in sight. I don't want to keep repeating myself, but the numbers really are meaningless at this point, there's so many places unaccounted for.

New information keeps coming in from areas inaccessible by road as do new pictures. These are from a British conservationist who reports that some cities on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, really, the hardest hit, simply gone. In his word, they were vaporized.

There were four more aftershocks today and they cause some authorities in India and Sri Lanka and Thailand to issue new and, we should point out, false tsunami warnings. As you can see, people running, the result of panicky and needless evacuations.

Roughly half a billion dollars in disaster relief has now been promised or delivered from around the world. That's the quick update from the latest developments.

I want to tell you now, though, the story of one family's search. And it is a search which is ongoing. The search is for a relative who is missing. It begins in Thailand where walls and bulletin boards are springing up, covered with posters of missing people.

Now, among the flyers, the flyers you see here, is one with a picture of a man named Ben Ables. His brother and David Ables and his friend Harry Barns join us now from Chicago.

Dave and Harry, thanks for being with us. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

David, we saw the picture of your brother there. What's the last you know about his whereabouts?

DAVID ABLES, BROTHER MISSING: Last we know he was in Bungalow 155 at the Princess Resort on Phi Phi Island traveling with a friend who survived.

COOPER: And I know, Harry, you and Ben have matching tattoos. And you're hoping that that fact, these pictures might help identify him to searchers or to rescuers. What's the story behind the tattoos?

HARRY BARNES, FRIEND MISSING: That's exactly right. Actually, Ben, myself and another friend of ours got the tattoos the summer after we graduated high school from Evanson Township.

COOPER: It's a triangle?

BARNES: It's a triangle. It's a small, but I think, unique triangle. It's located on the lower left leg just above the ankle that says pride that may or may not be able to be made out, but it says pride inside the triangle.

COOPER: It's heartbreaking that we have to show this picture and that we're in this situation. And you know, I wouldn't ask you to show that kind of thing. It's one of those things we all hope it's going to help.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Go ahead.

ABLES: He also has a distinctive mole on his left cheek. He's about 6'2 and 175 pounds. We're just hoping that if anyone is over there, or anyone that has friends or relatives over there, if you know anything about Ben, to please let us know.

Again, if your friends and relatives are over there, if you can call and have them go look for him. We are desperate. My family is just in unbearable pain. Pain I just never knew I could have before.

COOPER: I want to bring in Beth Sloven. She is joining us on the phone in Phuket, Thailand. I know she was there, she survived the wave. She's helping you look for Ben. I know her cousin in Chicago I think read about Ben in the paper and asked Beth to look for him in Phuket. Beth, is on the phone now.

Beth, where have you looked so far? And how difficult a task do you face right now?

BETH SLOVEN, SURVIVED TSUNAMI: Well, I've been to several hospitals. I even went to the pier for the boats to arrive with hundreds of bodies coming from Phi Phi Island and the boat didn't show up. It was going to -- it changed and went to Curabi (ph).

So there's just no system here. And if they have a body at one hospital, they move it to another and it's just -- it's just confusing here. They don't have any organization. But they're trying. They're really trying hard. And it's just a little bit overwhelming for this little island.

COOPER: Beth, we're looking at the picture on this board of the wall of the missing -- of Ben. Did you put the picture up there?

SLOVEN: Can I put the picture up?

COOPER: Did you put the picture up there? We're looking at a picture of Ben on a wall in Phuket.

SLOVEN: Yes, we put them up and I handed them out, also.

COOPER: What is it like, the scene there? There are so many people missing and so many people searching. Is it chaos? Is it -- can you describe it?

SLOVEN: It's chaos. But it's settling down a bit just because there's a dealing with the dead bodies. And they don't exactly know what to do with all of them.

And now it's getting to the point you just can't identify anybody. They're bringing forensic people in from all over the world to take on this task.

Eventually, they said, they'll have a Web site where people can look on the Web site and compare with their own DNA and teeth, whatever you may have. So that's -- I don't know when that will start.

COOPER: Well, the information...

SLOVEN: That's what they're, working on right now.

COOPER: The information out there. Beth, thank you. And I know obviously, David and Harry, obviously, thank you. And I know they talk to you before.

We do appreciate you joining us, Beth. I know you will continue the search. And david and harry, we wish you the best and we hope ben comes home soon.

ABLES: Thank you. So do we. COOPER: Coming up next on this special edition of 360. Why so many in Thailand dropped everything to help perfect strangers. You just heard it from Beth. We'll have another story of that ahead.

And also, they had no idea what was coming. A couple tossed by the tempest. How they survived the tsunami and lived to help others as well.

And the story of an American who changed his life to help orphans, then risked it all to save them in the tsunami. A story you won't soon forget as the special edition continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; The tidal wave came and washed away everything. At the time it collapsed we lost -- the children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The International Red Cross set up a web site to help relatives find survivors. This gives you a sense of the need out there. The web site crashed under the weight of 650,000 hits in the first 24 hours. The Red Cross hopes to have that site working on Friday.

In Thailand, more than 500 foreigners are still missing.

Aneesh Raman joins me now from Phuket -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good evening to you.

The death toll here now well over 4,000. Yesterday the Thai prime minister suggesting it could reach as high as 7,000. This is all happening in a country that is very well known for empathy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN (voice-over): In the aftermath of unthinkable tragedy, a moment of remarkable humanity. Eighteen-year-older Tong Thai Wong Siree (ph) fills out a nametag with the languages he speaks so that he can offer help and comfort to tourists.

Every visitor here has a story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I met people, asked them what did they lose, someone they lose their family. All so sad.

RAMAN: Tong (ph) lives inland, far from the shores consumed by tsunami waves. After hearing about the disaster, he felt for the large number of foreigners among the casualties. Their faces surround everyone here as a constant reminder of who was lost. The missing now, by many accounts, presumed dead.

(on camera) There are thousands of volunteers like Tong Thai (ph) coming here from all over Thailand, fueling this massive relief effort. This is a country that often finds compassion in crisis.

(voice-over) American Tony Carney has lived in Thailand for well over a decade. The sights he sees now are nothing new.

TONY CARNEY, EXPATRIATE: There's a concept in Thailand, in Thai culture that doesn't even translate into the English language. The word is nantai (ph), which translated loosely is an outpouring of the heart. Thai people have a great pride in this concept.

RAMAN: Around this tent city, scores of volunteers, looking to help shocked and stranded tourists wandering a foreign land, not speaking its language, torn from their loved ones.

Tong (ph) and many like him are the core of Thailand's relief effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe I think Thai people are Buddhist. Buddhists try to help other people.

RAMAN: Waving above the scene of sadness, Thailand's flag, at half-mast for its own people and the countless travelers who also perished here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: And Anderson, the latest part of this effort are psychiatrists that are coming down here to the south to help the families deal with what is now seemingly the inevitable truth, that those missing are dead -- Anderson.

COOPER: Aneesh, just on a personal level, what struck you in the last -- I mean, you've been covering this story now all week. What stands out in your mind? What's -- what will you never forget?

RAMAN: It's incredible. You know, this is such a difficult story. On the specific level, it's as enormous as it is on the abstract.

One moment, though, that is all going to stick with me. A couple of days ago we were standing, doing reports all day. And next to us a mother. This is in Pong Na, the hardest hit area in terms of death toll. A mother was just sitting on a simple blanket looking out at the devastation that was behind us. That is where her daughter was last known to be, where she worked.

And every day since this disaster she has come and sat there. Unknown whether her daughter has survived. But all she can do is sit and hope that, you know, she'll return.

But as we saw her during the day you get a sense that she's slowly starting to begin the grieving process. Just solemnly looking out there and realizing that her daughter's return is now unlikely.

COOPER: A terrible story. You know, I don't know if you're going to get a chance to go back to that town, but it would be great if you could reconnect with that mother and just follow up with her. Aneesh Raman, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

I've got to tell you, we've just received some really, really good news. Just a few minutes ago I talked by phone with Dr. Ed Aleo, who's gone to Thailand to try to find his son, Ed Junior, who's been missing all week.

Just minutes ago we got a call from Ed Aleo Jr., that he's alive. We're going to talk to his mother, Sue Aleo, right after the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: As we were on the air a few minutes ago I talked by phone, you may remember, with Dr. Ed Aleo. He's gone to Thailand to try to find his son, Ed Junior. He just arrived in Bangkok. He's in Bangkok.

Minutes ago we got a call that Ed Aleo Jr. is alive. His mom Sue got the call from her son. Sue is on the phone with us now.

Sue, when did you get the call? When did you hear?

SUE ALEO, SON SURVIVED TSUNAMI: He called me last night about 11 p.m., and he said that he and his fiance are fine. They were on the island of Copania (ph), which is where we thought they would be, and that island was not hit. They had just come off the island. I'm not sure where he was when he called me, but they were on their way to Krabi.

He knows that his father is coming there and also, he knows CNN will be with him.

COOPER: When you got that call, Sue, I mean, I can't even imagine.

S. ALEO: I was very happy.

COOPER: Well, OK. That's understated. I know Dr. Aleo is on the phone, as well, in Bangkok.

Ed, this is amazing news.

ED ALEO, SON SURVIVED TSUNAMI: This is great news. Thank you very much. I was -- go ahead.

COOPER: What -- where are you now? Are you at Bangkok airport?

E. ALEO: I was just -- just got out of line from the airplane. I'm going back in line as soon as I finish to get on the plane to go to Phuket and from Phuket I should go where? Where is Eddy?

COOPER: Sue, do you know where he is now?

S. ALEO: Well, no, I don't know where he is right now. As soon as I hung up from my son I called my husband's cell phone number and left a message with a couple of telephone numbers that my son had given me. My son told me that he was making his way to Krabi.

He knows that his father is -- was to land in Bangkok at midnight their time last night and that he would be coming with the CNN News team, and that's all that we talked about.

COOPER: Well, I think Krabi is an island, if I'm not mistaken from my memory of being in Thailand is correct, so I'm not sure which way he's working his way.

E. ALEO: He'd be working his way south, Anderson. From where he's at, he's going south and it's -- I understand it's directly east from Phuket.

COOPER: So Ed, where are you going to try to go now? Do you know?

E. ALEO: Well, I'm on a plane to Phuket and then I will go from Phuket. It should be about a one-hour drive or so to Krabi, if that's where he's coming to.

COOPER: Ed, after...

E. ALEO: That would be my goal is to do that.

COOPER: Ed, you've been flying for 24 hours, at least. It's a long flight. You've got to be exhausted, but this is probably the best news you probable could have gotten getting off a plane.

E. ALEO: I can honestly tell you right now I'm not tired at all.

COOPER: I can imagine that.

What -- were you -- how concerned were you? You know, you must have just been dreading this entire experience.

ED ALEO: Well, I was -- I was very concerned at first. And then I can honestly say that when I was in New York City I got scared even more.

A reporter approached me, and I tried to be very positive. And Sue was very positive about this. And he came up to me and he said to me, "Do you think your son is dead?"

And that was like a -- excuse me. That was probably the first shock that I really had. My concern was that -- you know, to find him. I knew he'd be OK. If he was hurt, we could solve that problem. I never thought that he would, you know, be, you know, not coming back. When he said that I was, like, totally stunned.

COOPER: I give you permission to...

E. ALEO: That was the first time I was frightened.

COOPER: By the way, I give you permission to slap that reporter. As a colleague, I can give you that dispensation.

E. ALEO: I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, but it sure took me back.

COOPER: Yes. Well, he should have chosen his words, I think, a little bit more carefully next time.

Ed, I'm really so happy for you. You know, we met just two days ago. You gave me a photo of your son. I've had the it at my house ever since. I've been thinking a lot about it. I'm really just so, so pleased for you. It's been a week where we haven't seen a lot of -- a lot of happiness. And I'm so happy for you tonight.

And for Sue, for you as well. We do appreciate you calling in. And we'd love to just get -- you know, when we see you all guys together, we will be greatly relieved. Thank you so much.

E. ALEO: That would be great. I appreciate all your help. I have to go, and they're calling me right now because I've got to get on the plane.

COOPER: All right. Get on that plane. See your son. We'll talk to you later.

It's nice way to end. This week, we've heard stories of survivors who outran the tsunami, literally, who rode it out underwater with scuba gear. And tonight in a moment you're going to meet two Americans who lived through the monster waves on a sailboat. Now they made it back home.

Ted Rowlands has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene they left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wave came this way.

ROWLANDS: Back home in southern California, Julie Sobolewski and John Henke are telling their incredible story of survival and heroism. With Julie's 25-year-old son, Casey, the three were on day seven of ten-day sailing off the coast of Thailand when the tsunami hit.

JOHN HENKE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: We didn't know how big it was going to be, that it was going to be as big as it was, but we kind of were aware that something big was about to happen.

ROWLANDS: Their boat, one of many in the water at the time, was headed towards a popular sandbar.

JULIE SOBOLEWSKI, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It gets bigger and bigger, and the next thing I notice is that the sandbar and the people on it are just gone.

ROWLANDS: Because of location behind the sandbar, they were able to withstand the waves. Other boats were not.

SOBOLEWSKI: As soon as that water hit those boats, they just pretty much blew apart and now there are all these people in the water hanging onto pieces of wood or parts of the boats yelling, "Help me, help me."

HENKE: You just do what has to be done. We didn't ever question what we had to do. You know, you grab as many people that you can grab right away and get them to safety.

ROWLANDS: As John and Julie pulled people into the boat, Casey jumped into a dinghy, a small rubber motorboat, to pick up as many children and people without life jackets as possible.

SOBOLEWSKI: They were very scared and shocked, and they were yelling, "Children, children!" They didn't speak much English. They spoke about enough to say, "Help me" and "thank you." A lot of "thank you."

ROWLANDS: After dropping off 21 people they went back and found more, including this group stranded on a rock. They also pulled in a woman who was dead.

SOBOLEWSKI: She was a snorkeler, and she was in the area where we were headed to snorkel.

HENKE: She still had a mask on her face. She had been snorkeling. She still had goggles on her face.

ROWLANDS: By the time the sun went down they had been at it for more than six hours. All told, they believe they pulled 35 people from the water.

HENKE: Ten minutes either way could have made a big difference for not only ourselves but for the 35 people we pulled out of the water.

ROWLANDS: They didn't realize the scope of the disaster until much later.

SOBOLEWSKI: It made me think a little bit about how important our family and our relationships and our friends are and how we're really just here for a short time.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Oceanside, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, 360, next our expanded edition. Scenes too horrible to look at, or horrors that must be seen? We'll take the stark reality to "The Nth Degree."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last thing I saw him, he was between a wall and a building, a concrete building just about four feet wide, and then that filled up with water quite quickly. So I have reason to believe that he just got swept away somewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Finally tonight, taking an unblinking view to "The Nth Degree."

A few of you have e-mailed us, not many, but a few, saying the pictures we've been showing you are too graphic. Now I understand the sentiment, but I hope you know that we don't want to show you these things.

None of us wants to see them. A parent silently screaming over the body of their lost infant. A child lost, searching for parents who may or may not be alive. Rows of bodies being cremated. No one wants to see this.

When I first became a reporter I worked mainly in war zones in Somalia and Sarajevo and Rwanda, places where you got used to seeing images that no one should see. Innocent, men, women and children cut down for no reason whatsoever, their bodies piled like cordwood.

Yes, these images are terrible to look at, but look at them we should, because these bodies, these people are us. Death has defaced them. The water has done its worst, but in life they were like you or me, teachers and shopkeepers, students and parents, bakers and doctors. People struggling, as we all struggle.

And so very many of them died alone anonymously. They'll go uncelebrated, unremarked on, picked up by bulldozers, buried in pits. They will simply disappear.

And that is why we think, hard as it is, we must make ourselves look. Otherwise, for so very many, it will never -- it will be like they never existed at all.

"LARRY KING LIVE" is next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 30, 2004 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The death toll mounts, and the race is on to save the living.

360 starts now.

Living between hope and hell, hundreds of thousands with nothing left, no homes, no relief, desperately trying to stay alive. Tonight, we take you behind the headlines, personal stories of suffering and survival, tragedy and triumph.

An American man searching for his missing son, last seen on a remote Thai island, and a 4-year-old girl last seen in a wave of water. Her mother wants to know if anyone has seen her little Anna.

Small victories amidst the carnage. Tonight, meet an American family who ran for their lives, and now mourn for those they left behind.

And a young man who miraculously escaped a train while hundreds remained trapped in their seats.

Thousands reaching out to adopt the orphans of the wave, but is it a good idea? Tonight, an in-depth look at the reality of disaster, and what you can do to help.

And what happened to all the animals? Do they really possess a sixth sense for disasters? Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us live.

ANNOUNCER: This is a special two-hour edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, Wave of Destruction.

COOPER: And good evening again. Welcome to this expanded edition of 360.

We realized something last night. Most of those who made it through the ghastly event we've been covering all this week survived because they had something to hold onto -- a tree, a pole, a car, a parent.

We're beginning to go think that we here and you out there need that as well, something to anchor us in the awful undertow of this story.

So that's how we're going to begin tonight. This is television. All we can give you is an image and a story, but it's something, we think, you can hold onto.

This picture -- now, we don't know this little girl's name. She's, what, maybe 2, give or take? The picture was made at a relief camp on India's Little Andaman Island. We have no idea what the moment before this picture was taken was like for her, or what came directly after it.

All we know is what we can see, what you can see right now, which is that, although her cup of milk is empty, she's not put it down. And of course she hasn't. She's making this one all-too-brief moment of comfort, a parentheses in a terrible time, last as long as she possibly can.

We can't see her eyes, but we're willing to bet almost anything that they're closed. Notice to her -- notice her bracelets on each arm. For a moment, just imagine how different her life must have been only a few days ago. Just imagine how good that milk tastes for a little girl who's been through far too much.

That cup of milk, and the brief moment of comfort it provided, may have been part of the vast relief effort that has gotten under way. The effort has to be vast, of course, because the need -- well, the need is vast indeed.

Today the estimated number of dead topped 116,000. The number of those homeless or in need is in the millions. And often, the stories of the dead and the living are inseparable.

From Sri Lanka tonight, here's CNN's Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These devout Christian sisters had celebrated Christmas together the day before, as they had done for the past 40 years. Even after they were married, they chose to live next door to each other. And on the morning of December 26, they woke up at 5:30, had a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast of rice and dal, and then, three hours later, watched as both of their husbands drowned in the tsunami while saving their children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When the second wave came, we were looking for our son, and my husband went out to search for him and found him in a tree. He rescued him, and both of them were running for their lives. Later, my son was found alive, but my husband was missing. He had been drowned.

GUPTA: It all happened in less than 20 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The water was rising, and the sea was coming. We ran for our lives, but it caught us, and the water almost came up to our necks. We managed to escape from the first wave, which destroyed our house. The second wave came and took us by surprise. There was just so much water, I didn't know what to do. GUPTA: Remarkably, their story is not unique. Swerna (ph) and Marianna (ph) Sebastian Francis are among the 3,000 displaced people in this town alone. Its coastal location turned this already deprived fishing community into one of the most vulnerable in the country. Most here are now widows and orphans.

(on camera): So what are they going to do now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't know what to do next. Right now, we don't have a source of income. We'll need to look for jobs, but they are scare.

GUPTA: Days later, they have their health, for the most part. Swerna had her leg banged up pretty badly. Marianna has bandages all over her hand. But they're not from the tsunami, she tells me, but rather from carrying the coffin of her husband and then refusing to let it go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And Anderson, we are right here in the middle of one of these settlement camps. A lot of Buddhist temples around the country instantly became settlement camps, this one having about 3,000 people. The number is growing by the day. Certainly not big enough to house that many people.

But there are tons of stories, like the one you just heard of two sisters.

What we're learning, Anderson, as far as relief goes, there does appear to be enough water, enough food. The real concern for a lot of these people is, where are they going to go over the next couple of weeks? They have no homes. Many of them are widows and orphans. There's no infrastructure to deal with that.

At this time, that's their biggest concern, Anderson.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those two women that we just met, what happens to them? What are they doing tonight? What will they do tomorrow, next week, next month?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, we asked them the same question, Anderson. There really isn't a plan. They're staying here at this Buddhist temple for now. Both the primary breadwinners, their husbands, were killed in the tsunami. They don't have a plan right now as far as how to deal with that. They're calling upon relatives. They may go live with somebody else for some time. They both have two children each. It's going to be a struggle for them.

Again, but housing is sort of a first and foremost for them in terms of getting them moving and getting them mobilized once again, Anderson.

COOPER: You know, Sanjay, I know you're a doctor. You've seen a lot of death, a lot of suffering in your time. Today, what struck you? What sticks in your mind from today? GUPTA: You know, the thing that's really striking about all this, Anderson, is that we're dealing with sort of the aftermath of the tsunami. We're dealing with lots of different -- what would be considered minor illnesses, diarrhea, respiratory illnesses, cuts, abrasions, and things like that, things that could be treated with a 25-cent antibiotic or a stitch, any hospital in the world, probably.

But here, in certain parts of Sri Lanka, because some of those supplies haven't gotten here yet, because some of those antibiotics haven't gotten here yet, people will die of very treatable diseases. And that is frustrating for everybody around here, I'm sure, for us as well, to watch that.

They need more supplies. Again, they're getting the water, they're getting the food, but as far as taking care of some of these ailments, we've still got a ways to go.

COOPER: And Sanjay, we've been getting a lot of e-mails from viewers, many of whom are Sri Lankan, saying, you know, we're not hearing from the north of the country, we're not hearing from the northeast of the country. And all that is true. I mean, they -- it's difficult, at this point, just moving around on the ground, I imagine, to get anywhere. And we're certainly doing the best we can.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

As we told you all this week, the numbers of dead are almost meaningless. So many are missing, we have no idea what the final toll will be. Some new figures just in today, nearly 80,000 of those killed were in Indonesia alone, almost 25,000 are Sri Lankan, nearly 2,000 in Thailand.

But we were struck by another number today. For the first time, the U.S. State Department revealed just how many Americans they're trying to find. Right now, there are up to 3,000 Americans unaccounted for in the disaster zone, up to 3,000. The wall of the missing in Phuket, Thailand, that you're looking at right now, it is full of photos of people of all nationalities, Americans, Europeans, people from around the world.

All these pictures placed there in hopes someone will see them and find them. Their loved ones are waiting, and they're wondering. They are hoping for good news. Right now, for many, there is little good news.

Tonight the American death count stands at 14. But as we said, up to 3,000 remain unaccounted for.

You may remember last night, we talked with Anne-Lie Kjellander of Sweden. She was in a hospital in Bangkok last night, so was her 7- year-old son, martin, and her husband. They face surgery today. Her 4-year-old daughter, Anna, is still missing.

Today, Anne-Lie and her husband and her son, Martin, are going home. They need medical care, and they're going to get it in Sweden by tomorrow morning. She leaves, however, not knowing if little Anna is alive or dead. I spoke with her just moments ago.

How was your surgery today?

ANNE-LIE KJELLANDER, ANNA KJELLANDER'S MOTHER (via telephone): Our surgeries were good. We still have open wounds. They won't stitch them again because they are still a bit infected.

COOPER: And how is Martin's surgery? Your 7-year-old son, Martin, as well had an infected hole in his stomach.

KJELLANDER: Yes, he's the same. He's the same. He has also open wounds. The problem with Martin is that he's so afraid for the child doctors and nurses, so no one gets to touch him. So we have urgently asked SOS International in Copenhagen, Denmark for transport home, so the Swedish doctors can help and talk to Martin, because he has been through so much lately.

COOPER: Have you been able to talk to him? Have you been able to try to calm him?

KJELLANDER: I can't hear you right. But can you once more tell me what you said?

COOPER: Have you been able to talk to Martin? Have you been able to try to calm him?

KJELLANDER: Yes, we are trying to comfort him, and trying to tell him it's nothing to worry about it, but he doesn't trust us anymore, because when we say it doesn't hurt, he still can feel it hurt. And he doesn't trust us. So we have to come home.

COOPER: That's got to be very difficult for you and for Sten.

KJELLANDER: Yes, it's very difficult. And before, my husband could have much more than he can now. He's also injured in the leg, and has got bad infection too. So they were going to operate on him too, but he said that he wouldn't let them operate because, if he's getting operated, he can't help our son. So he's standing back for the operation to help him.

COOPER: Have you heard anything about little Anna? We talked about her last night. She's 4 years old. We put her picture up around the world. I know you've been getting some e-mails, your sister has, in Sweden. Have you heard anything?

KJELLANDER: No, we haven't heard anything. We found out something more about what she was wearing and so on. I told you that she was wearing a dress that was pink-and-white striped and with yellow bikini underwear, and she had pink sandallettes on. And we can also tell people who find her, dead or alive, that her big toenail is gone, because in kindergarten she had a chair that fall on her big toe, and now in Thailand it went off. So she hasn't got a nice big toe.

And that's something that people can look at and see that is Anna.

COOPER: Anna-Lie, when was the last time you saw Anna?

KJELLANDER: When the last time I saw Anna?

COOPER: Yes.

KJELLANDER: It was on the beach. We were standing by each other and watching the wave that was coming in. We didn't understand what it was first. We thought it was a tide or something. When we saw a boat coming up on land (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in front of us, we understood that it was very serious, and we started to run. And I just grabbed my son, which was nearest me, and I didn't see my husband and my daughter.

COOPER: And I know your husband grabbed Anna but was not able to hold onto her. He saw her being swept away.

KJELLANDER: No, he didn't hold her.

COOPER: When do you arrive in Sweden?

KJELLANDER: When we are going to Sweden?

COOPER: Yes.

KJELLANDER: The plane is leaving this morning at 8:40 a.m. Thai local time.

COOPER: Is it difficult for you to leave, knowing that Anna is still in Thailand?

KJELLANDER: Yes, very much. It's very difficult.

COOPER: Well, Anna-Lie, we've been putting your daughter's picture up, and we hope somebody has seen her, somebody has some information. We'll also put up to the Web site about how people can get in touch with her. It's Petra...

KJELLANDER: Well, I certainly -- I appreciate that. And I would like to have any information, bad or good information. We are understanding now that the time has gone so long now that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we think our daughter is dead. But we would like to have it confirmed. So we just don't know where she is. We want to have it confirmed that she is dead.

COOPER: Anna-Lie, our hearts go out to you. And I'm so sorry to be talking to you under this situation, and we will continue to...

KJELLANDER: I can hear a bit badly now.

COOPER: We'll continue to tell this story, and we hope you get some good word about your daughter.

KJELLANDER: Yes, thank you very much.

COOPER: Safe travels.

KJELLANDER: Thank you.

COOPER: Anna-Lie Kjellander just wants to know if her daughter is alive or dead.

Our special expanded edition of 360 continues. An American couple who literally grabbed their kids, ran for their lives. Everything around them sucked out to sea. For them, a happy ending.

Plus, survival turns to desperation. Literally millions of people tonight scrambling for any amount of food or water. Relief organizations overwhelmed. We'll take a closer look at what's being done to help.

Also tonight, children of the storm. Thousands left orphaned, and relief agencies flooded with calls from American families who want to adopt. Tonight, is it really the best way to help? We'll try to look at that with an expert.

Covering all the angles. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: You know, it's so disturbing, as we get these pieces of video each day, and you don't know what happened to the people in them. I mean, you saw those two little kids being swept away. Thankfully, the camera pans over a little bit later. You see that they did get out. They were climbing up that wall. But we don't know their names. We don't know who they are, and we don't know where they are right now.

Again, so many days after the wave struck, we're still getting videos like that every day. And as we are watching, sitting here mesmerized, how suddenly it all happened. A fun family home video suddenly records a horrible hiccup of history.

Every day now, we're also seeing families returning from the disaster zone, families very happy to be home, to say the least.

On Tuesday, you may remember, we talked with a man named James Firmage in Bangkok. They've now arrived back in California, James and his wife, Vivian, and their two young daughters. They were in Phuket when the waves hit. We were there for the happy homecoming. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There they are!

COOPER: The moment the Firmage family stepped off the plane in San Francisco, their fears of the last four days were erased. James, Vivian, Caitlin, and Michaela had to literally run for their lives and away from the wall of water that caused so much death and despair.

On Tuesday, James Firmage told us what they saw and heard when the tsunami struck.

JAMES FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR (on phone): I heard this sound that can only be described as perhaps a jet engine bearing down on us, and trees starting to break. And then what looked like a wave that was 10 to 15 feet, not in the traditional sense of a wave, but water, a mass of water, rushing at us, closing a gap.

COOPER: Their hotel was crushed, their belongings washed away. The family spent the night on top of a hill with other survivors, marveling at their good fortune and feeling for the local people whose suffering had just begun.

JAMES FIRMAGE: They were so generous. They were missing village, they were missing their families, and they would -- they brought up food and supplies, and we all sort of camped out on top of this jungle.

COOPER: James and Vivian tried to shield their little girls from the worst of the horrors, but some memories will probably never die. For them, now more than ever, there truly is no place like home.

VIVIAN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I can't describe it. I just -- I'm just so glad to be home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, James and Vivian Firmage and their daughters, Caitlin and Michaela, join me now from San Francisco.

It is so great to see you all four here safe and sound.

When -- Vivian, when you stepped off that plane, how did it feel?

VIVIAN FIRMAGE: It was great. It was just nice to finally touch ground after all that traveling, all that we went through to get there.

COOPER: You know, James, we spoke to you on the phone Tuesday evening. For any of our viewers who weren't watching, though, tell us again what you saw, what happened to you and your family as that wave hit.

JAMES FIRMAGE: The wave didn't appear right away. What we noticed was the water slowly draining out to the sea, and the tide, which was normally up, and the longtail boats, which were buoyant on the water, were now stuck in sand.

And the locals were looking with sort of wonderment and anxiousness at the tide that was going out rather than coming in. And we looked, and we sort of didn't pay that much attention. And then we noticed the water going all the way out and exposing the reef, which we had never -- which we hadn't seen before.

Then the water came back in sort of in a swirling motion, like -- not unlike when water goes down a toilet bowl. And then the water went parallel to the shore. A woman taps my daughter, youngest daughter, on the shoulder and said, Come back. My wife, Vivian, went to collect her. And then we looked up, and the water now was coming at us, still maybe three to four feet, just after -- like when a wave crashes and starts to roll in.

At that point, I turned my attention sideways to talk to the lady who was braiding hair, and she had horror in her eyes, wide-eyed. She ran around me, and we heard the term "Run," and the locals started running. And at that point, we ran about as fast as we could, still thinking, Well, it's just going to be a large wave, and we'll be all right. We'll just run just to be away from it.

Well, after running about 100 yards, I could hear this engine roar, this sound not unlike a jet engine starting to life. And that sounded very unnatural to me.

And next thing I know, my daughter in front of me, Michaela, dropped her journal. I could hear the sound. I said, Don't pick it up. Run. And I don't know what I -- why I did, I picked it up. That was silly.

Then I turned around my shoulder, and all I could see was brown water, 10 to 15 feet tall, a massive wall rushing towards us. At that point, I turned, and we ran, all of us, serpentine through a village.

And then I thought, OK, well, maybe the village will protect us. And then I heard snapping, which was probably palm trees, and then the houses that were one-story bungalows, virtually exploding behind us. Things were flying in the air. I could feel on the back of my neck that the water was getting closer.

For whatever fortune, whatever happened, we ran up to a staircase, and our staircase was a restaurant in the shape of a boat. We ran past that up, I got up to maybe 10 to 12 feet high and turned around, and the water went rushing past us.

COOPER: Caitlin, when the first wave hit, you and your dad and Michaela and your mom were separated for a bit. What -- that must have been really scary for you.

CAITLIN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Well, when we were up at a high bungalow, me and my mom panicked, because we heard a second one was coming. And so me and my mom ran up the hill barefoot, trying to get away from the second wave. But my mom -- my dad and my sister stayed down in the bungalow. And I was crying up on top of the hill because I was very worried. I felt like I had lost them. I didn't know whether the wave had gotten there, or if it hadn't, and I was just really worried and very upset.

COOPER: Wow, you're really brave. Michaela, I know you keep a journal. I know you dropped the journal in the water. I heard you said that this morning, the waves, it may have been too scary to write about it. Do you think you'll maybe write about it one day?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I don't know. I think I might.

COOPER: What do you normally write about?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- What?

COOPER: What do you normally write about?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: I usually write about happy things, and I don't usually write about scary things.

COOPER: That's a very wise thing to do. What do you remember from the morning? What was the scariest thing for you?

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: The noise.

COOPER: Vivian, was that -- you're shaking your head as well, you're nodding. Was the noise for you one of the things?

VIVIAN FIRMAGE: It was unbelievable, the noises behind us. And I was running, bracing myself for something to hit us, either the water or a tree or -- It was, I mean, undescribable on how loud it was. And it just being right behind us.

And I knew Caitlin was ahead of me, and I fell at one point, and she stopped. And I told her to keep running. And when I got up to look back where Jamie and Michaela were, I saw how close the wave was to them, especially to Michaela.

And I just kept screaming to pick Michaela up, because I didn't think she'd make it. And it was right behind us. But people weren't so lucky that were running with us. And we're just thankful the four of us got there. And the separation, yes, it was tough for a little while, but I knew that they were probably OK where they were, because people were coming up and said it hadn't gotten there yet.

And we were eventually reunited, and not everyone was so lucky.

COOPER: You know, James, one of the things you talked about the other night when I spoke with you on the phone that really moved me and really stayed in my mind, I've been thinking about it a lot since then, was your immediate concern for the people left behind, for the Thai people, who opened up their homes, opened up their hearts to you, and helped you, even though their homes were destroyed, even though their hearts were broken.

JAMES FIRMAGE: Yes, I can't imagine that, if you had just lost your entire worldly possessions and perhaps more, parents, children, that you would turn around and offer kindness in the form of food or drinks for our kids. One man went down to the village, or whatever was left of it -- I don't know how he did it -- and brought up rice. You know, some of the best-tasting rice we've ever had. And he didn't have to do that. I don't know why he did it.

And I think it's a testament to the Thai people, the generosity of spirit, just a magical, magical group. COOPER: Well, Vivian and James, and especially Caitlin and Michaela, you all have a lot of courage. And we're glad you're home safe and sound, and we appreciate you being with us tonight.

JAMES FIRMAGE: Thank you.

CAITLIN FIRMAGE: Thank you.

MICHAELA FIRMAGE: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. Good luck to you all in the future.

Next on this special edition of 360, the race to save the living. Can governments and groups get the relief where it's needed in time?

Also tonight, children of the storm, and families around the world offering to adopt them. But is it really the best way to help? We'll try to take a closer look, talk to the experts about that.

Also, a little later tonight, animals and a sixth sense. Did some animals know a disaster was coming? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back to our special two-hour edition of 360, the fourth this week in our coverage of an event the scope of which only seems to grow each night.

The numbers of dead are already beyond comprehension, but their fate has already been determined. The concern now is for the living, numbering in the millions, who have no food, no water, and little hope.

One resident of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, the ground zero of both the tsunami and the massive earthquake which caused it, is quoted as saying, "Some cars come by and throw food like that. The fastest get the food. The strong one wins. The elderly and the injured don't get anything. We feel like dogs."

Mike Chinoy is there now.

Mike, what have you seen today?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson.

Well, it's been another eventful night. We -- it's about 7:30 in the morning here, and about three and a half hours ago, we had another aftershock.

Let me show you where we are and how we're operating here. This is the compound of the governor of Banda Aceh, and we've been sleeping right out here, outside, because of the concerns about aftershocks. We've set up our TV equipment here. That's our videophone and our satellite phones. It's all powered off generators, because there's very little electricity in this compound, even. It comes on and off occasionally. Outside, there's none whatsoever. And we're sharing this compound with Indonesians who have lost everything. Behind me over there, you can see some folks. They've been camped out. This is some kind of little amphitheater. I think they work in this compound. And they've lost everything. They've been camped out here ever since we got here. They are sleeping over there, washing over there. This has become kind of the unofficial center for the media here. If you turn the camera this way, you'll see some satellite dishes also powered by generators, and over here is a hall where about 100 journalists have made their kind of informal headquarters.

They're working and they're sleeping here. And we started the first night to sleep here. But then the second night, we had three big aftershocks. And when these aftershocks happened, people have been racing out in the middle of the night. Some folks have been, understandably, very anxious and agitated. So we moved outside. And last night, when the quake woke me up, I turned my head, and I saw dozens of people coming out of that door.

But this is also a place that has become something of a nerve center for relief efforts beyond those satellite dishes. On the other side, Indonesian officials had been gathering and meeting with representatives from the international aid agencies trying to plot a course of action to get aid to people here. And slowly, at least here in Banda Aceh, that's beginning to happen. UN officials were telling me the single top priority here is to get drinking water to as many people as possible, clean drinking water, to prevent the spread of epidemics. Anderson?

COOPER: Mike Chinoy from Banda Aceh tonight. And there are hundreds of thousands of people from that region still unaccounted for. They simply do not know -- we've been saying this three nights in a row. Right in the epicenter, right where the first waves hit, those are some of the most remote areas. Some of the areas that relief hasn't gotten to. And the fear is those places are just decimated. And if that is the case and the people there are dead, the numbers, the death toll could rise dramatically.

There's so much fear still among the survivors of the wave. So it should come as no surprise, the hint of another tsunami sent tens of thousands of people in three countries running for their lives. Take a look at this. A false alert created mass panic in Thailand, in southern India, and in Sri Lanka. People running, desperate, holding hands, trying to get up, running away from what they thought was another tsunami. To make matters worse, it was false information based on erroneous information from a group that claims to be able to predict earthquakes. Bottom line is that technology does not exist.

There were four aftershocks in the region, but none powerful enough to cause a tsunami. It's just one of the examples of the survivors' stress. Experts we've been talking to who work with relief agencies tell us a lot of victims right now are suffering psychological trauma and they may not even know it.

Joining me on the phone from Colombo, Sri Lanka is Steve Matthews. He's with the world response team. Steve, thanks very much for being with us. I know it's a difficult time for you. It's often hard for us to understand really the mental devastation endured by those who are still alive. Describe to us, if you can, the really kind of post traumatic stress disorders that you've witnessed just the past few days.

STEVE MATTHEWS, WORLD VISION (via telephone): Well, the human spirit always seems to rise to the occasion. What I've witnessed here I can only compare to the many other emergencies I've been to in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, earthquakes in Latin America, et cetera. And that is in those the human spirit seems (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and it was almost (UNINTELLIGIBLE), people had been able to pick up their lives and get back on with it. But here, everything is so daunting. They're trying very much to put back their lives together by, you know, cleaning the streets, pulling the rubble up from their homes, but it's so big and so daunting, they seem to have hit a wall.

And often, you'll see them sitting in the rubble of their home basically doing nothing with a very vacant look on their face. One old woman south of Colombo on the seaside, she and her six sons survived, but they lost everything -- their homes, everything that they had ever had. And when we met her, she was just sitting in the rubble of her home with no idea what to do. So delivering humanitarian aid isn't always about bringing the material things. We also need to bring hope to these people which is so desperately lost for many of them.

COOPER: And bringing hope is not easy to do. I know you met a family of fishermen, and they're now afraid of the sea.

MATTHEWS: That's right. A mother, a father, and the three young daughters are living with 350 other people in a church run by the Don Bosco order of the Roman Catholic Church just north of Colombo. And sleeping on the floor of the church, but they lived on the seaside nearby, and the tsunami wiped out all of their homes. As I talked to the mother, she told me how they're terrified of the sea now. The place that they had lived all of their lives. It's the same sea that gave them life every day. The same sea that her husband went to and went fishing all the time, they now see it as a very large and very threatening monster.

COOPER: So many stories like this. Steve Matthews from World Bision. We appreciate you joining us. We know it's a busy night for you. Thanks, Steve.

Thousands reaching out to adopt the orphans of the wave. But is it a good idea? Tonight an in depth look at the reality of disaster and what you can do to help.

And what happened to all the animals? Do they really possess a sixth sense for disasters? Animal expert Jack Hanna joins us live. This special edition of 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All week we've heard story after story and have seen the pictures of young kids, some who are missing a father or mother or both. These kids are now all alone, and they still face danger and the threat of disease, of course. And many people like yourselves at home watching us have seen these images and are now looking for ways to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): When you first hear the numbers, it sounds unbelievable. Some experts say there could be thousands of orphaned children, though nobody knows for sure. When you see their faces, the reality becomes too much to bear.

Many of our viewers have said they want to do something to help. After last night's broadcast, a number of you sent emails saying you want to open your hearts and homes to these devastated children. Michael Pesin(PH) of Maryland wrote us, "It was very heart-wrenching watching the show. I decided I want to adopt two kids and provide them a new life."

Albert and Dee Haas of Virginia wrote, "We are not rich or extremely well off, but we would like information on how to adopt up to four of the orphaned children."

The emails are moving, the sentiments very real. But is adoption the best thing for these children after the trauma they've experienced? If these kids truly have lost their parents, their homes, all they've known in their young lives, what do they really need right now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That, of course, is the question. Joining me from Washington to help answer the question, Sonia Khush, she's the program manager for emergency response for Save the Children. Sonia, thanks very much for joining us. So many of our viewers, they want to help. They say they're considering adopting these orphans. Is that in the kids' best interest?

SONIA KHUSH, "SAVE THE CHILDREN": We've actually received a lot of inquiries from very generous Americans who are interested in adopting these children. And I think it's a really true testament to the generous spirit of the public. However, Save the Children is a relief, recovery, and development organization. And based on our experience implementing relief programs, we found that children are best equipped to deal with the trauma of the situation they've gone through by staying in communities and environments that are familiar to them with perhaps extended family providing them support, surrounded in an environment where they speak the language and they know the culture. That seems to work really well in helping them overcome the trauma.

COOPER: Even before the tsunami, Indonesia required a two-year residency in Indonesia for foreign adoptions. Would they even want Americans to adopt these kids?

KHUSH: Well, I think that's an indication that adoption may not be very common in Indonesia and that they're concerned about the environment which Indonesian kids would grow up in, and I completely understand the sentiment of the public wanting to adopt Indonesian kids or Sri Lankan kids and bring them here and have a better life. But you really have to think about the environment they're growing up in and what it would mean to them to be uprooted from what's familiar and known to them and be taken to another place.

COOPER: How do they typically deal with orphaned kids in these communities?

KHUSH: Well, for example, I can speak to what's happening right now. I think it's a little too early to even say how many kids have been adopted. There is definitely an issue of separation, which relief agencies such as Save the Children are dealing with, and we're trying to trace kids that have been separated from their families and reunite them. And oftentimes, that takes a few weeks or even a few months to settle down before you can know who has been orphaned and who has not and what is the situation in the country. So right now, we're really focusing on tracing, on reunification and providing life saving support to families that have been affected by the conflict.

COOPER: So a group like Save the Children, how fast can you get into these communities, and what do you do once you're there?

KHUSH: Well, actually, Save the Children has been working in Aceh, Indonesia since the early '70s so we've been there for about 30 years now. We had 30 staff on the ground when the tsunami hit. Unfortunately, we lost one, and of course the other staff are dealing with a lot of trauma. But because we have that presence there, we know communities. We know the environment. We have three offices in Aceh. We're very well positioned to work with communities and strengthen communities so that they can then help the kids who have been traumatized.

COOPER: Sonia Khush, we appreciate you joining us. Thanks Sonia.

Besides adoption, you may be drawn another way, going there, seeing the heartache firsthand and volunteering to help strangers in need. We got a lot of emails from people wanting to do that. The reality is, according to relief agencies, the best thing that people can do right now is give money. The money is helping relief agencies with volunteers already on site, many of whom live in the region. If you're wondering (AUDIO GAP), you can go to CNN.com and click on the "How to Help" link. You may find some answers there.

Coming up next on this special edition of 360, a survivor's story, a pregnant mother with her family on vacation when the waves hit. Hear her tale of survival.

Plus the big question -- did the animals know disaster was coming? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: For many of the tsunami's victims, the horror struck at a time that was supposed to be carefree and relaxing. Iris Bilia is pregnant with twins. She and her family had gone to one last vacation in Thailand before she was due. She, of course, thought it would be peaceful and it was not. This is the video her husband Ron took when the wave hit. Ad you can see, there's water and debris all around, and people trying to make sense of what's going on. Iris Bilia is back at home in New York, safe and sound. She joins me now. Good to see you here alive and well. When that water came on, what did you think?

IRIS BILIA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I didn't see it. I was -- we were supposed to leave that afternoon, and I was packing in the bedroom. And my husband with my two girls eating breakfast, and when it hit -- I don't think he even saw it. But he saw this man running with crutches, and he was looking, and then he realized the water is gushing over and flooding the restaurant. So he ran with them, and then he came over to the room, and he told me, get out, get out. You have to see what's going on out there.

COOPER: It's hard to get a sense of the scope of devastation and the debris. As you were leaving, you were able to get out relatively quickly. What kind of debris did you see around you? What sort of impact?

BILIA: Exactly what you see in all the videos. These umbrellas, they seem like they're nothing, but they're these huge heavy wooden umbrellas, and they're floating like they're nothing. And all these lounge chairs. You know, the electricity went out when I left. It's just -- now I heard from other people that they might think this hotel is going to crumble down. And this is like a big concrete ...

COOPER: And you were taken by bus to another hotel. I understand you described it as a scene out of the Titanic. People sort of rushing to go get into this boat.

BILIA: We were up on a hill for quite some time, from 10:00 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. And the hotel manager came over and said, he thinks it's safe. He's not sure. But they invited us to come back and would transfer us to a different hotel. And there was no transportation whatsoever except for the hotel bus, taking people to the other hotel, which is the Hilton, and at that point people were waiting for the bus to come. And everybody's gathering up front.

And once it came, it was a scene from the Titanic. People were all over each other trying to get on top -- inside the bus. Myself and another woman, we sent our husbands outside the hotel to see if they can get maybe a taxi or tuk-tuk as it's called over there. But they ended up coming back with a bus that came back from the first group of people that it brought, and I was able to lift up my baby and give her ...

COOPER: You were a 5-year-old daughter may who was with you. She was keeping a journal all during this time and made some drawings. We're going to put them up on the screen. What do you see when you look at those pictures?

BILIA: Well, in general, we were in other locations, so she was showing different things, like going to -- riding an elephant and this and that. But this specific page that you're seeing, this rectangle thing next to the blue stuff on the left ...

COOPER: The blue is the water.

BILIA: ... is our hotel. And what she wrote -- she's 5 1/2, and she's writing phonetically. She wrote the tsunami giant wave flooded the hotel. And then the next thing you see is this funny hill, and it has the people on top of it, and on the right side in pink is like two chickens, you know.

COOOPER: How do you explain something like this to a 5-year-old?

BILIA: You don't. They see it. You don't really -- sorry. I'm getting emotional. You don't really explain it. They see it, and whatever they understand, they understand. And then in general, in the afternoon of that day, she started crying, and we told her, you know, look at us. Mom and dad are pretty calm. Why are you worried? She said, I don't know what's going to happen. Because there were rumors floating around another big wave was going to come at 3:00. So we were sitting up on a hill with a lot of other people waiting to see what was going on. In general, you don't. And now we came back, and everything is fine, and we sleep all four of us in the same bed. And every time we try to put her back in her bed, she comes back, and she says, I can't sleep. I have these nightmares. And we didn't really see all the devastation and the stories that you were showing on your show. We didn't. We didn't see bodies or casualties.

COOPER: You were lucky to get out so soon and lucky to be out safe and sound. Iris Bilia, we appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

BILIA: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Coming up next on this special edition of 360, animal instinct. Did some animals know there was a deadly surf about to hit? Jack Hanna joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The Indian government is looking to a newspaper report that its military was warned about the tsunami, but the warning wasn't passed on. That's being investigated.

And this may sound like a strange question, but as we continue to cover the story from all angles, so many people are wondering did animals sense danger and find safety ahead of the storm? Consider this. In Sri Lanka, accord to go one eye witness, most of the animals in the national wildlife sanctuary appear to have survived. An official was quoted as saying, "No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

We want to see if this is true. One man who knows animal behavior better than just about anyone is Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, he joins us from LA tonight. Jack, thanks for being with us. Do animals like elephants have a sixth sense? Do they sense danger?

JACK HANNA, "JACK HANNA'S ANIMAL ADVENTURES": Scientifically, well, no, nothing's been proved, but, yes, they do. Elephant have a feel in their feet. They can feel things miles a way. Their hearing is some of the greatest of any animal in the world. I just was in Phuket, and I saw these animals in the wild. You have got to remember something, when these animals, like an elephant, feel something, like in Africa or Asia when we're filming, the elephant will trumpet or raise up like this, and all of the sudden, then the giraffe will do the same things and certain birds. Actually, predator and prey will warn each other. Giraffes look up at the lion, lions will look at the giraffe, and then they take off. Something's going on here. And what happened, at Yala(PH) national park, what you're talking about, over 200 people lost their lives, and as you said, no animals. So obviously somebody knew something.

COOPER: This may be a dumb question. What about domestic animals, pets? Are there warnings people can get from dogs or their cats?

HANNA: In the earthquake in Los Angeles, people noticed their dogs several minutes before the earthquake. Certain animals, especially dolphins and birds, have an electromagnetic - the can feel. They have a compass in their brain. How do birds know to go north and south that type of thing? Obviously, it's weather, but also it's an electromagnetic field so they can sometimes sense it. In the ocean for example, what happened, what I think happened is obviously with a big earthquake out there in the ocean, the fish and dolphins especially saw what was happening.

And therefore the birds that hunt the fish say, what's going on down there? Birds then of course would come inland and warn the animals that are inland as well. It's almost like a chain of events that happened right there in a matter of minutes. These animals know. As a matter of fact, you and I -- mankind, if you think back a while, think of the Native Americans. When I'm out in Montana hiking where I live and I'm at a camp ground, and I hear squirrels chirping, why is it doing that? That means it's a grizzly or something around my campground. It could be a cougar, really, whatever it might be.

So, really, what we've lost as human beings, we've lost that sense, so to speak, that animals still have of listen, and nature tells you when something's getting ready to happen. And I think that's what hopefully we now are listening, and someone is telling us, can we continue to destroy our coral reefs? I'm not, Anderson, a person that runs around - and I'm sure I do as many things -- I don't recycle as much as I should and everything. I'm not saying poo-poo on everybody, but with the loss of coral reefs and with the loss of mangrove swamps, the big thing now is to build as close to the ocean as you can, if we have coral reefs to stop the waves and then mangroves, obviously, a 30 foot wave is not going to be stopped by everything. But it will be helped a great deal by what we're destroying on these coastlines throughout the world.

COOPER: Interesting point. Jack Hanna, do appreciate you joining us. It's a fascinating topic. I wish we had more time. Jack, thanks very much.

HANNA: Thank you.

COOPER: In the next hour of this expanded edition of 360, Julienne's (ph) choice. A mother of two little boys. She was holding on to one, she had to let go of the other to save herself and her baby. She shares her horrifying emotions. The ordeal in her own words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Do you remember the image we began this program with about an hour ago? This image, a little girl completely draining a cup of milk? Maybe it didn't seem like much to hold on to. But it is, terrible to say, more than many others have right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Every picture tells a story of courage, of shock, of loss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Ours is a total loss. I lost my wife and a daughter. Everything is lost.

COOPER: We focus on the headlines, of course, the staggering numbers, the overwhelming need. But look behind the headlines, and that's where you'll find where the real personal tragedy lies. In tens of thousands of homes and huts and broken hearts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Please save me. I've lost everything. I have nothing now.

COOPER: In communities we haven't yet heard from, in places with no names, there are tens of thousands unaccounted for. Lone survivors, families torn apart. People with nothing left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I lost all my relatives, including my wife and grandchildren. All my houses have been washed away completely. And whatever little I had was stolen or lost.

COOPER: Thousands upon thousands of the dead have been buried in mass graves in Indonesia. No names, no markers. We may never know who they were or the lives they led. In India, bodies are cremated in fields, a final, if hurried, gesture of respect to mothers and fathers and friends. In Sri Lanka, where nearly 25,000 people have died, we're told that thousands of white flags hang outside homes, a sign death has come to call.

Fathers no longer able to work, to feed their families, now look to the skies for help. Amidst the water and the worst, there is survival as well. A fisherman who clung to his boat for three days is finally found and rescued. Stories of generosity, doctors taking to the streets to treat those who can't make it to hospitals, doing what they can to stem the spread of disease.

Moments of hope, moments of compassion, that remind us to look beyond the headlines, beyond the numbers, look at the faces of those still living, the faces determined to go on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Instead of PAULA ZAHN NOW, our special expanded edition of 360 continues.

In the next hour, stories of remarkable courage, stories of terrible pain and need as well, small stories, very personal, human stories that may not make some headlines, but they make up the mosaic of a paradise lost. We'll meet two Americans who rode out the tsunami in a sailboat, then became heroes to dozens of others whom they rescued. And we'll hear the words of that woman who faced a dreadful choice, "Sophie's Choice," if you will, in the surging water. Which of her two children would she save and which would she let go?

We want to start with a sign of hope, however, tonight, a scene in London's Heathrow Airport today. Take a look, a family reunion, a mother greeting her son just back from Sri Lanka; 24-year-old Shenth Ravindra narrowly escaped death aboard a Sri Lankan train, a train that was called, ironically, the Queen of the Sea. What happened on board that train is just now becoming clear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): At first, all we saw was this aerial shot. In the upper part of your screen you can see the long cars of the train pushed over by the crush of water, wheels and axles ripped off by the waves, the tracks twisted like a hideous roller coaster. Flesh and bones, however, broke much more easily than steel.

There were some 1,000 people on this train. As many as 900 were killed. Hundreds of corpses are still pinned in the wreckage. The smell is overwhelming. There's no heavy equipment, so for now they're doing what they can with chain saws. Shenth Ravindra cut his foot badly escaping from the train. He's in a wheelchair, but he's alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Alive.

And I spoke with him and his mother earlier today. I started by asking him what happened when the first wave hit the train.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHENTH RAVINDRA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Well, when it hit the train, it sort of pushed the train, shunted the train off the track. And, as the water started rushing in, it actually tilted the train onto a 45- degree angle.

Basically, if you can imagine, the train was like this and then it ended up like that. And then we had to climb out one of the exits.

COOPER: Were people taking this nonchalantly? Were they screaming? What was the atmosphere like? RAVINDRA: It was anything but nonchalant, Anderson, a lot of people screaming. There was a lot of panicking, as you can imagine. It was a terrifying situation.

COOPER: So, you're sitting on top of the train after the first wave. Then the second wave comes. What happens?

RAVINDRA: I heard a lot of screaming and shouting and then an almighty crash and bang. And I looked towards the sea and the horizon completely changed.

A wall of water was basically taking up about 85 percent of the horizon. It was moving very quickly towards us. As you can imagine, everyone around us started screaming incessantly. Loads of kids started holding on to me, grabbing any limb that they could find of me.

I basically steadied myself on to the carriage because I knew that the force of the wave against the carriage was going to be quite tremendous. And, as I steadied myself, the water came and hit. It pushed the carriage further inland to a point where it got wedged against a house. And from that point, I was able to jump from the top of the train on to the house and up the roof.

And I sort of perched myself at the highest point of the house.

COOPER: You know, we've been talking to a lot of people who have lived through this and hearing about others who didn't live through it. And it seems what makes the difference, it seems often so arbitrary. Small decisions that you make, personal decisions you make to jump onto a roof or to stay on the roof or to leave the roof often is the difference between who lives and who dies.

You decided after a while the roof wasn't safe and you jumped off.

RAVINDRA: At that moment in time, the water level was rising quite quickly. Also, the foundations of the house was starting to rock. Tiles were starting to fall.

A coconut tree was cutting itself through the roof of the house. And my primary concern at that moment in time was whether the house would collapse and I would collapse with it.

COOPER: And in jumping off that roof, you cut your foot pretty badly.

RAVINDRA: I have quite a deep cut on the sole of my foot. It went straight to my bone and cut a lot of muscles and tendons.

COOPER: At this point, as you're walking away, is there screaming? Is there pandemonium?

RAVINDRA: Yes.

I mean, I wasn't walking. I was sort of having to trudge my way through about around waist-level water. And floating on this water was a lot of corpses. So I was hoping to make my way through there. And the background noise to this was obviously a lot of screaming, a lot of shouting and a lot of panic. I made a conscious effort to look at a blank space in front of me, not really focusing on anything.

It was a case of just walking dead straight focused on the plan of getting to -- getting as far away from the seashore as possible.

COOPER: Niru, when you heard the tsunami had hit Sri Lanka, you knew your son was there. What went through your mind?

NIRU RATNAM, MOTHER OF SHENTH: At about 7:00, I heard that something was going on in Sri Lanka. So, suddenly, I thought about Shenth, as to what is going to happen to him or what has happened to him.

COOPER: What was that reunion like? I know he came back just recently. You were reunited at the airport. It must have been quite a moment for you.

RATNAM: Oh, definitely. I am ever so relieved that God had saved him and thankful to God.

COOPER: Are you going to let him travel anymore?

RATNAM: Well, it's all -- it's up to him. He's not going to listen to me. Even if I tell him not to travel, I don't think he's going to listen to me.

COOPER: Shenth, do you want to just stay in England now for a little while?

RAVINDRA: I am glad to be back home, so I'll enjoy my time back home. But, definitely, I want to go out there and see the world again.

COOPER: Well, Shenth and Niru, we appreciate you talking with us.

RATNAM: Yes.

RAVINDRA: Thank you, Anderson.

RATNAM: Thank you so much, Anderson.

COOPER: Shenth Ravindra is home tonight. But across Asia, it's estimate 5 million people cannot go home at all, their homes destroyed or damaged, inaccessible or just simply gone.

Refugees gathering in camps now and temples are simply under the open sky.

Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is watching this part of the story unfold in Sri Lanka -- Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson. Let me just set this up here a little bit. We are at a Buddhist temple, Malagooda Payagala (ph). About two kilometers behind me, you are going to find the ocean, from which about 3,000 people were displaced and came to this particular settlement camp.

Several of these camps in this area, let me just give you a little bit of a tour around you, about 3,000 people, as I said. The first thing you'll notice, it doesn't seem nearly big enough. A shelter that housed several hundred people, slept in there last night. Another shelter over here and most people sleeping on the floor on mats.

You see a couple of water tanks around us as well. There is clean water as far as we can tell, obviously, a lot of people milling around. Now, we talked -- I know you showed these images of a girl drinking milk, for example, Anderson. There's not supplies like milk here. They do have water and hot water if they want it. They are getting good. There seems to be a lack of antibiotics, certain medications.

Yesterday, for the first time, doctors arrived here. Four doctors from the U.K. arrived to try and dispense some medical care, as well as some medications. Also, some supplies starting to come in for the first time four to five days after the tsunami hit.

Again, it is unclear, Anderson, how long these people will stay here, again, several hundred people staying in this particular stretch over here. You can see right behind me, Anderson, there is a pile of clothing in this particular structure. There are some donations coming in not only of the clean water and food, but also of clothing as well.

But if there's a lack of something, it is probably the medications, even things like 25-cent antibiotics that could probably take care of some of these problems.

A Buddhist temple, Malagooda Payagala (ph), this is where we stand right now. This has become instantly a huge settlement camp for about 3,000 displaced, Anderson.

COOPER: How people respond to suffering and pain and loss is affected by their culture and whether they're demonstrable or not. Standing there talking with these people, is there an overwhelming sense of loss, of pain or is there a sense of acceptance? What are you seeing? What are you hearing?

GUPTA: You bring up an excellent point, Anderson. The culture is very different in this part of the world.

We're surprised by what we see. And what I mean by that is there's not the sense of despair. If you look at some of the faces of people standing around, they've just woken up this morning, but we spent some time talking to them, spending time with them yesterday. In fact, they're encouraged by the fact that they have a place to live. It's really striking in some ways. They're encouraged by the fact that you start to see these boxes come in, boxes of relief, some medication, some food, some water, really glass half-full sort of society. The other thing that really struck us, Anderson, as we've been reporting this story, is that it took a while for some of the foreign aid to get here, but that didn't stop the Sri Lankans from sort of organizing themselves, setting up command centers, if you will, to try and take care of their own.

It wasn't easy for them. This is not a country that's built with a significant public health infrastructure, but they did what they could. And because of those efforts, a lot of these people will probably live. Having said that, Anderson, that's the rosy side of things. Having said that, over the next few days, weeks and months, it is unclear what is going to happen to the majority of these people.

And I think what is frustrating for all of us here on our team is that there is no plan really for them in the long term, no housing, no jobs. There's a good chance that because of the cascade of events that the tsunami has caused, a lot of these people aren't going to survive this, Anderson.

COOPER: It's an ominous note to end on, but we'll end it there.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

Our next stop is Indonesia, where the earthquakes and tsunamis killed nearly 80,000. And, again, those are early day's numbers. The numbers, at this point, they are just meaningless. There are so many people unaccounted for. Relief workers are only now getting to some of the more remote areas. And what they're finding is simply -- well, it's beyond words, loss on a scale we have not yet seen.

Atika Shubert traveled to see for herself what's happened to Meulaboh on the island of Sumatra. Now, keep in mind as you watch this, there used to be cities in this place. Now hardly anything is left.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To understand the level of devastation here, see it from the air, more than 80 percent of the structures destroyed. Because of its location, this was the first area to be hit. Because of its isolation, it was the last to receive help.

We flew in with two private planes that hoped to deliver food and water by being the first to land on the last one-quarter of the town's airstrip still intact. It was close, but they made it. There are few words to describe the total devastation on the ground, multi-story buildings reduced to cement foundations, markets, schools, demolished. Bodies swell in the baking son. Death toll estimates are anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000, sparking fears that anywhere between a quarter to one-half of the town's population may have been killed.

This survivor was so bewildered, so desperate, he turned to visiting journalists for comfort.

"Everything is gone," this man cries. "All my children are gone."

Aid is finally trickling in by sea and by air. Now that pilots know they can safely land on the damaged airstrip, more will come. An army helicopter has arrived with aid and a navy ship unloads supplies in the harbor. Because of the insurgency, there were already a lot of military personnel in the region. They are the only infrastructure left. Everything else has been destroyed.

Soldiers distribute what they can, despite dwindling fuel supplies. They too have been hard hit, hundreds of their colleagues missing, believed dead, many of their wives and children gone. But the biggest surprise in this isolated and decimated town is the will to survive. Surrounded by death and destruction, with little or no aid from outside up until now, survivors still manage to pick through what is left, looking for anything that will help them to carry on.

Atika Shubert, Meulaboh, CNN, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It's just remarkable when you see those pictures and you just imagine that it's more than four days since the tsunami hit. Those are the first planes that are getting into that region. I don't know if you saw the size of those planes. One of them looked to be about a Cessna, the size of a Cessna. You know, 50,000 people in need and you can only imagine what it's been like for them for the last four days. Where do they sleep? What are they eating? What fresh water can they get? It's one of those things that's just hard for me, at least, to comprehend.

People in Indonesia are struggling, no doubt about it, struggling to bury the dead, struggling in so many different ways, just trying to get the bare necessities of food and water. Consider this. A Jakarta newspaper estimates that at least 100,000 Indonesians have lost their jobs and their incomes. The hotels, the resorts, the restaurants where they worked simply don't exist anymore.

As I've said, but I think it bears repeating, there are hundreds of thousands of Indonesians unaccounted for right now. We don't know how many are dead. We don't know how many of those missing are still alive.

Conservationist Mike Griffiths has flown over areas where whole towns and cities have, in his words, vaporized. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE GRIFFITHS, CONSERVATIONIST: I was stunned. I never expected that the devastation should be so complete. And I didn't believe that the tsunami itself could go so far inland.

Some of the damage was complete right until 1.5, 2 kilometers inland from the coast. What you had before was a land and rice fields and coconut groves extending right to the coast. And it was a really emerald green kind of environment, very beautiful. And the infrastructure, of course, was complete. You had clearly defined roads and bridges and so on.

Now what you're left with are the pictures that you described to me, which I took two days ago.

Most of the people that lived near the coast, and that's, of course, the majority of people in this part of Aceh, as Indonesia, most people are either fishermen or rice planters. And these people were just completely, they have completely vanished. Literally, there are about four or five towns on the west coast with populations of at least 10,000 people, they have been eradicated. They have been literally wasted and they no longer exist.

About 200 kilometers of coastline have been literally devastated. There's no buildings of any value left. And some of it wasn't just ordinary villages with nice stilts and thatched roofs. This was solid concrete structures, which have been totally leveled. And all that you've got left are the foundations and sometimes not even the foundations.

I've seen plane crashes. I've seen all sorts of problems, and big floods. We had a flood a couple of years ago in Sumatra which killed 300 people, but the scale of this is something which I don't think has ever been surpassed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, you can see the devastation, no matter how high you go. Take a look at these satellite pictures from the Digital Globe.

They show Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Now, the top picture shows the downtown neighborhood before the tsunami. Look closely at the bottom picture. About half the houses are destroyed, debris piled up everywhere. Here's another set of before-and-after images. Look in the upper right. What you see is a mosque. Same picture shows what it's like now. It's a little hard to tell, but you do get a sense of the devastation.

The mosque has been severely damaged and so has the compound around it. Now, in the final set, focus on the barrier island in the top picture. Now, as you can see in the bottom picture, much of the island has been flooded or washed away. It's simply gone.

Coming up next on this special expanded edition of 360, zeroing in on some very human stories behind the headlines, a mother forced to make a terrible choice, which child to save? We'll hear her story in her own words.

Also ahead, a fisherman who made his meager living from the sea. Now it has become a killer, a killer he fears.

And a desperate search for clues half a world away, following the fate of one missing American. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN FIRMAGE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It really sucked really far back out, and then you could just see this ridge of water. And then one of the locals tapped my little one and said, start to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, we haven't heard much from Malaysia, although at least 66 deaths are reported there. And these new pictures come from Malaysia's Penang Island. You're about to see some kids trying to run to safety there on the left-hand side of your screen. They are swept away.

Later on in the video, you do see that the kids are -- and we think it's the same kids -- climbing up a fence nearby, so we're assuming they're OK, but the truth is we honestly don't know. We don't know who they are. We don't know their names and we don't know what's happened to them. And there are just countless stories like that right now.

We're told that of the nearly 117,000 confirmed deaths across Asia and Africa and India, perhaps one-third of them are children. They're also the most vulnerable to disease right now.

Our next story does involve two children and their mother who had a split-second decision to make, a horrible choice, let go of one child, so the other child might live. Now, truth be told, when we first heard this story, we almost didn't want to hear it. We were fearful of how it turned out. But I do want to tell you, it does have a happy ending -- I want you to know that in advance -- for the woman and for her kids. But, still, the choice she was forced to make in a split-second, it's hard to imagine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Far from their home in Australia, the Searle family enjoyed Christmas in Phuket. For Jillian, her husband Brad and their two little boys, Lachie and Blake, it was a very special treat.

On Sunday morning, the day after Christmas Jillian and the boys had just finished breakfast and were enjoying the early morning sunshine at the Holiday Inn pool. Brad ran up to the room to get a diaper for Blake when suddenly the water rushed in. Jillian says she acted on instinct.

JILLIAN SEARLE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: This big wall of water just coming straight for us and we just started running.

COOPER: As the first monster wave engulfed his family, Brad watched helpless from a hotel balcony above the pool. Down below, Jillian clung to her two children as the water swirled around them.

SEARLE: I had both of them in my hands, and one in each arm and then we started going under.

COOPER: Her strength fading, Jillian faced an agonizing decision, a decision no one should ever have to make, release one child to save another.

SEARLE: I knew I had to let go of one of them. And I just thought, I had better let go of the one that is the oldest.

COOPER: The oldest was Lachie, just 5, but he couldn't swim. Jillian passed Lachie off to a nearby woman and begged the stranger to hold on tight, but the water's power ripped him away.

Brad finally reached Jillian and Blake. And they scrambled to safety on top of some playground equipment, but there was no sign of Lachie. They began a desperate search.

SEARLE: I was screaming trying to find him. And we thought he was dead.

COOPER: Two hours later, the couple had nearly given up hope, but, miraculously, an exhausted Lachie was found in a flooded room clinging to a door handle and he was pulled to safety. He later told his dad that he survived by dog-paddling as fast as he could.

Now back in Perth, Australia, where they're reunited with family and friends, Lachie knows he is one lucky little boy and Jillian counts her blessings that her heart-wrenching decision had a happy ending.

SEARLE: It was just horrible. I'm just so thankful that I have still got my two kids with me. I never thought that both survived.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And they both did survive.

Two nights ago, we spoke with an American father who was about to make the long journey to Thailand to search for his missing son. At that point, Dr. Ed Aleo had last heard from Ed Jr. on Christmas, 12 hours before the tsunami hit.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ED ALEO SR., SON MISSING IN THAILAND: My plans are to find my son. And I'm going to find him.

COOPER: It's OK. Take your time.

ALEO: He's experienced. He knows what he's doing. I have a lot of confidence in my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, Dr. Ed Aleo has made it to Bangkok. He joins us now on the phone.

Ed, how are you holding up?

ALEO: Doing pretty well, Anderson. Thank you.

COOPER: You plan to go to the island where your son was last seen. Have you heard anything new about him?

ALEO: Well, I'm leaving here to go to Phuket. And then from Phuket, I plan to go to Copinyon (ph).

COOPER: There are many people I know searching for their loved ones trying to contact the embassy. Have you been able to make any calls or has anyone from your family been able to get anywhere in trying to sort of get the word out?

ALEO: I've been traveling for the last 30 hours. Right now, I think I'm running on adrenaline. But I did receive a phone call this morning about 3:00 in the morning from a reporter who said that my son made a phone call to a family member, but I was not able to verify that. And that's great news for me. For New Year's Eve, that's a great piece of information, so I'm excited.

COOPER: Well, that would be fantastic. And, God, we hope that's true.

When you finally get -- you're going to Phuket. Are you then going to sort of just see what the situation is there? Or are you going to immediately try to get out to this island?

ALEO: When I get to Phuket, I will probably check in with the authorities first. And then my goal is to go Ragan (ph) and then see if I can go from there to Copinyon (ph) or try his cell phone again. I haven't been able to try his cell phone. So, hopefully, I'll be able to ring him up again.

COOPER: Well, Ed, we wish you luck and we'll be following the story. And Godspeed. Good luck to you, Ed Aleo.

ALEO: Thank you very much, Anderson. I appreciate all your help and your interest.

COOPER: All right, we'll keep following it, Ed. Thanks.

360 next, having so little and losing it all. Now the survival of the poorest is at stake. We're going to focus on the fears of one small fishing village and the people in it.

Also coming up, they're the very essence of humanity, good samaritans pouring into the disaster zone trying to help. We'll tell their story ahead.

And a couple's brush with death at sea as we close in on these very human, very personal tales of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUTHIPONG PHA-OPAS, FATHER (through translator): I was frightened. I did not think I would survive. The rescue team found my son in the mangrove, not me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, some help is getting through to the survivors in the disaster zone. In Indonesia, where nearly 80,000 people died, military transport planes delivered supplies today to Medan. And, in India, where more than 7,000 have died, relief supplies reached the southern Tamil Nadu state today.

Around the world relief, efforts are gaining momentum. No doubt about it. Nations have promised more than $280 million and the U.N. said today that the World Bank will release $250 million for the relief effort. American companies, including Wal-Mart, Citigroup, Pepsico and ExxonMobil, have also promised a total of about $60 million in help. Drug giant Pfizer alone has pledged $35 million, equaling the amount pledged by the U.S. government.

Canada, we should point out. We have a lot of Canadian viewers who have been e-mailing us, telling us to say how much Canada has pledged. They've pledged more than $40 million. The hundreds of thousands of survivors will need that help and much, much more to survive and to start their lives over.

In India, along the country's southeast coast, the story, it's a story just repeated in village after village.

Ram Ramgopal reports now from one of those villages on the Indian coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A cry for help in a devastated fishing village. This woman grieves for her mother.

Her neighbor, Sumpat Kamar (ph), who made his living fishing for sharks, thought he understood the ocean. He still cannot believe this much damage was done in just 10 minutes. Sumpat picks his way through the streets of his village in southern India, where the tsunami raced in, wrecking houses and pulling the weakest and the youngest to a watery death.

On the street where he lived, he shows us where the water rose. Another one of his neighbors even broke the tiles off his roof to perch his family on top. Sumpat, whose own family has been in fishing for scores of generations, was in a larger hub, but miles away. He managed to escape, but five of his family members died.

The sea is like a mother. The land our father, he says. We love the sea and respect it like God, but now we are wary.

His savings all, but gone. The shark catchers live in the clothes he was in on the day of the disaster. He hasn't even had a chance to buy new footwear.

We are petrified, he says. We wonder now can we continue our livelihood on the high seas?

(on camera): The awesome force of the tsunami could lift 4 ton boats like these some 50 meters from the sea that way. The killer wave has also had a profound impact on the lives of countless people.

(voice-over): In the oldest and largest Hindu temple in Nagupatina (ph), thousands of fisher folk gathered for aid and relief. The old, the young, the injured, all displaced from their homes in another fishing village. Every person here has lost a relative, but there's no time to mourn. Life is a new struggle.

Many here say they're afraid of what the sea has turned into. They found refuge, though, in this temple dedicated to a local saint for fishermen. Ram Ramgopal, Nagupatina (ph), CNN, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next, what do Americans do who are searching for the thousands of Americans unaccounted for? We're going to introduce you to the man at the center of so much hope and so much sorrow.

Also tonight, Thai citizens bearing the brunt of death still rushing to help terrified tourists in need. Remarkable stories.

And an American's dash to avoid disaster an save the lives of the littlest victims. Our special edition of 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back.

In this half hour we're going to meet the brother of a missing American. And we're going to tell you the story of some perfect strangers who are willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.

First, let's take a look at the top developments -- the latest developments in "The Reset." The confirmed death count is approaching 119,000, the number just updated a few moments ago. There are certain -- no end in sight. I don't want to keep repeating myself, but the numbers really are meaningless at this point, there's so many places unaccounted for.

New information keeps coming in from areas inaccessible by road as do new pictures. These are from a British conservationist who reports that some cities on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, really, the hardest hit, simply gone. In his word, they were vaporized.

There were four more aftershocks today and they cause some authorities in India and Sri Lanka and Thailand to issue new and, we should point out, false tsunami warnings. As you can see, people running, the result of panicky and needless evacuations.

Roughly half a billion dollars in disaster relief has now been promised or delivered from around the world. That's the quick update from the latest developments.

I want to tell you now, though, the story of one family's search. And it is a search which is ongoing. The search is for a relative who is missing. It begins in Thailand where walls and bulletin boards are springing up, covered with posters of missing people.

Now, among the flyers, the flyers you see here, is one with a picture of a man named Ben Ables. His brother and David Ables and his friend Harry Barns join us now from Chicago.

Dave and Harry, thanks for being with us. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

David, we saw the picture of your brother there. What's the last you know about his whereabouts?

DAVID ABLES, BROTHER MISSING: Last we know he was in Bungalow 155 at the Princess Resort on Phi Phi Island traveling with a friend who survived.

COOPER: And I know, Harry, you and Ben have matching tattoos. And you're hoping that that fact, these pictures might help identify him to searchers or to rescuers. What's the story behind the tattoos?

HARRY BARNES, FRIEND MISSING: That's exactly right. Actually, Ben, myself and another friend of ours got the tattoos the summer after we graduated high school from Evanson Township.

COOPER: It's a triangle?

BARNES: It's a triangle. It's a small, but I think, unique triangle. It's located on the lower left leg just above the ankle that says pride that may or may not be able to be made out, but it says pride inside the triangle.

COOPER: It's heartbreaking that we have to show this picture and that we're in this situation. And you know, I wouldn't ask you to show that kind of thing. It's one of those things we all hope it's going to help.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Go ahead.

ABLES: He also has a distinctive mole on his left cheek. He's about 6'2 and 175 pounds. We're just hoping that if anyone is over there, or anyone that has friends or relatives over there, if you know anything about Ben, to please let us know.

Again, if your friends and relatives are over there, if you can call and have them go look for him. We are desperate. My family is just in unbearable pain. Pain I just never knew I could have before.

COOPER: I want to bring in Beth Sloven. She is joining us on the phone in Phuket, Thailand. I know she was there, she survived the wave. She's helping you look for Ben. I know her cousin in Chicago I think read about Ben in the paper and asked Beth to look for him in Phuket. Beth, is on the phone now.

Beth, where have you looked so far? And how difficult a task do you face right now?

BETH SLOVEN, SURVIVED TSUNAMI: Well, I've been to several hospitals. I even went to the pier for the boats to arrive with hundreds of bodies coming from Phi Phi Island and the boat didn't show up. It was going to -- it changed and went to Curabi (ph).

So there's just no system here. And if they have a body at one hospital, they move it to another and it's just -- it's just confusing here. They don't have any organization. But they're trying. They're really trying hard. And it's just a little bit overwhelming for this little island.

COOPER: Beth, we're looking at the picture on this board of the wall of the missing -- of Ben. Did you put the picture up there?

SLOVEN: Can I put the picture up?

COOPER: Did you put the picture up there? We're looking at a picture of Ben on a wall in Phuket.

SLOVEN: Yes, we put them up and I handed them out, also.

COOPER: What is it like, the scene there? There are so many people missing and so many people searching. Is it chaos? Is it -- can you describe it?

SLOVEN: It's chaos. But it's settling down a bit just because there's a dealing with the dead bodies. And they don't exactly know what to do with all of them.

And now it's getting to the point you just can't identify anybody. They're bringing forensic people in from all over the world to take on this task.

Eventually, they said, they'll have a Web site where people can look on the Web site and compare with their own DNA and teeth, whatever you may have. So that's -- I don't know when that will start.

COOPER: Well, the information...

SLOVEN: That's what they're, working on right now.

COOPER: The information out there. Beth, thank you. And I know obviously, David and Harry, obviously, thank you. And I know they talk to you before.

We do appreciate you joining us, Beth. I know you will continue the search. And david and harry, we wish you the best and we hope ben comes home soon.

ABLES: Thank you. So do we. COOPER: Coming up next on this special edition of 360. Why so many in Thailand dropped everything to help perfect strangers. You just heard it from Beth. We'll have another story of that ahead.

And also, they had no idea what was coming. A couple tossed by the tempest. How they survived the tsunami and lived to help others as well.

And the story of an American who changed his life to help orphans, then risked it all to save them in the tsunami. A story you won't soon forget as the special edition continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; The tidal wave came and washed away everything. At the time it collapsed we lost -- the children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The International Red Cross set up a web site to help relatives find survivors. This gives you a sense of the need out there. The web site crashed under the weight of 650,000 hits in the first 24 hours. The Red Cross hopes to have that site working on Friday.

In Thailand, more than 500 foreigners are still missing.

Aneesh Raman joins me now from Phuket -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good evening to you.

The death toll here now well over 4,000. Yesterday the Thai prime minister suggesting it could reach as high as 7,000. This is all happening in a country that is very well known for empathy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN (voice-over): In the aftermath of unthinkable tragedy, a moment of remarkable humanity. Eighteen-year-older Tong Thai Wong Siree (ph) fills out a nametag with the languages he speaks so that he can offer help and comfort to tourists.

Every visitor here has a story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I met people, asked them what did they lose, someone they lose their family. All so sad.

RAMAN: Tong (ph) lives inland, far from the shores consumed by tsunami waves. After hearing about the disaster, he felt for the large number of foreigners among the casualties. Their faces surround everyone here as a constant reminder of who was lost. The missing now, by many accounts, presumed dead.

(on camera) There are thousands of volunteers like Tong Thai (ph) coming here from all over Thailand, fueling this massive relief effort. This is a country that often finds compassion in crisis.

(voice-over) American Tony Carney has lived in Thailand for well over a decade. The sights he sees now are nothing new.

TONY CARNEY, EXPATRIATE: There's a concept in Thailand, in Thai culture that doesn't even translate into the English language. The word is nantai (ph), which translated loosely is an outpouring of the heart. Thai people have a great pride in this concept.

RAMAN: Around this tent city, scores of volunteers, looking to help shocked and stranded tourists wandering a foreign land, not speaking its language, torn from their loved ones.

Tong (ph) and many like him are the core of Thailand's relief effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe I think Thai people are Buddhist. Buddhists try to help other people.

RAMAN: Waving above the scene of sadness, Thailand's flag, at half-mast for its own people and the countless travelers who also perished here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: And Anderson, the latest part of this effort are psychiatrists that are coming down here to the south to help the families deal with what is now seemingly the inevitable truth, that those missing are dead -- Anderson.

COOPER: Aneesh, just on a personal level, what struck you in the last -- I mean, you've been covering this story now all week. What stands out in your mind? What's -- what will you never forget?

RAMAN: It's incredible. You know, this is such a difficult story. On the specific level, it's as enormous as it is on the abstract.

One moment, though, that is all going to stick with me. A couple of days ago we were standing, doing reports all day. And next to us a mother. This is in Pong Na, the hardest hit area in terms of death toll. A mother was just sitting on a simple blanket looking out at the devastation that was behind us. That is where her daughter was last known to be, where she worked.

And every day since this disaster she has come and sat there. Unknown whether her daughter has survived. But all she can do is sit and hope that, you know, she'll return.

But as we saw her during the day you get a sense that she's slowly starting to begin the grieving process. Just solemnly looking out there and realizing that her daughter's return is now unlikely.

COOPER: A terrible story. You know, I don't know if you're going to get a chance to go back to that town, but it would be great if you could reconnect with that mother and just follow up with her. Aneesh Raman, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

I've got to tell you, we've just received some really, really good news. Just a few minutes ago I talked by phone with Dr. Ed Aleo, who's gone to Thailand to try to find his son, Ed Junior, who's been missing all week.

Just minutes ago we got a call from Ed Aleo Jr., that he's alive. We're going to talk to his mother, Sue Aleo, right after the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: As we were on the air a few minutes ago I talked by phone, you may remember, with Dr. Ed Aleo. He's gone to Thailand to try to find his son, Ed Junior. He just arrived in Bangkok. He's in Bangkok.

Minutes ago we got a call that Ed Aleo Jr. is alive. His mom Sue got the call from her son. Sue is on the phone with us now.

Sue, when did you get the call? When did you hear?

SUE ALEO, SON SURVIVED TSUNAMI: He called me last night about 11 p.m., and he said that he and his fiance are fine. They were on the island of Copania (ph), which is where we thought they would be, and that island was not hit. They had just come off the island. I'm not sure where he was when he called me, but they were on their way to Krabi.

He knows that his father is coming there and also, he knows CNN will be with him.

COOPER: When you got that call, Sue, I mean, I can't even imagine.

S. ALEO: I was very happy.

COOPER: Well, OK. That's understated. I know Dr. Aleo is on the phone, as well, in Bangkok.

Ed, this is amazing news.

ED ALEO, SON SURVIVED TSUNAMI: This is great news. Thank you very much. I was -- go ahead.

COOPER: What -- where are you now? Are you at Bangkok airport?

E. ALEO: I was just -- just got out of line from the airplane. I'm going back in line as soon as I finish to get on the plane to go to Phuket and from Phuket I should go where? Where is Eddy?

COOPER: Sue, do you know where he is now?

S. ALEO: Well, no, I don't know where he is right now. As soon as I hung up from my son I called my husband's cell phone number and left a message with a couple of telephone numbers that my son had given me. My son told me that he was making his way to Krabi.

He knows that his father is -- was to land in Bangkok at midnight their time last night and that he would be coming with the CNN News team, and that's all that we talked about.

COOPER: Well, I think Krabi is an island, if I'm not mistaken from my memory of being in Thailand is correct, so I'm not sure which way he's working his way.

E. ALEO: He'd be working his way south, Anderson. From where he's at, he's going south and it's -- I understand it's directly east from Phuket.

COOPER: So Ed, where are you going to try to go now? Do you know?

E. ALEO: Well, I'm on a plane to Phuket and then I will go from Phuket. It should be about a one-hour drive or so to Krabi, if that's where he's coming to.

COOPER: Ed, after...

E. ALEO: That would be my goal is to do that.

COOPER: Ed, you've been flying for 24 hours, at least. It's a long flight. You've got to be exhausted, but this is probably the best news you probable could have gotten getting off a plane.

E. ALEO: I can honestly tell you right now I'm not tired at all.

COOPER: I can imagine that.

What -- were you -- how concerned were you? You know, you must have just been dreading this entire experience.

ED ALEO: Well, I was -- I was very concerned at first. And then I can honestly say that when I was in New York City I got scared even more.

A reporter approached me, and I tried to be very positive. And Sue was very positive about this. And he came up to me and he said to me, "Do you think your son is dead?"

And that was like a -- excuse me. That was probably the first shock that I really had. My concern was that -- you know, to find him. I knew he'd be OK. If he was hurt, we could solve that problem. I never thought that he would, you know, be, you know, not coming back. When he said that I was, like, totally stunned.

COOPER: I give you permission to...

E. ALEO: That was the first time I was frightened.

COOPER: By the way, I give you permission to slap that reporter. As a colleague, I can give you that dispensation.

E. ALEO: I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, but it sure took me back.

COOPER: Yes. Well, he should have chosen his words, I think, a little bit more carefully next time.

Ed, I'm really so happy for you. You know, we met just two days ago. You gave me a photo of your son. I've had the it at my house ever since. I've been thinking a lot about it. I'm really just so, so pleased for you. It's been a week where we haven't seen a lot of -- a lot of happiness. And I'm so happy for you tonight.

And for Sue, for you as well. We do appreciate you calling in. And we'd love to just get -- you know, when we see you all guys together, we will be greatly relieved. Thank you so much.

E. ALEO: That would be great. I appreciate all your help. I have to go, and they're calling me right now because I've got to get on the plane.

COOPER: All right. Get on that plane. See your son. We'll talk to you later.

It's nice way to end. This week, we've heard stories of survivors who outran the tsunami, literally, who rode it out underwater with scuba gear. And tonight in a moment you're going to meet two Americans who lived through the monster waves on a sailboat. Now they made it back home.

Ted Rowlands has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene they left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wave came this way.

ROWLANDS: Back home in southern California, Julie Sobolewski and John Henke are telling their incredible story of survival and heroism. With Julie's 25-year-old son, Casey, the three were on day seven of ten-day sailing off the coast of Thailand when the tsunami hit.

JOHN HENKE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: We didn't know how big it was going to be, that it was going to be as big as it was, but we kind of were aware that something big was about to happen.

ROWLANDS: Their boat, one of many in the water at the time, was headed towards a popular sandbar.

JULIE SOBOLEWSKI, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It gets bigger and bigger, and the next thing I notice is that the sandbar and the people on it are just gone.

ROWLANDS: Because of location behind the sandbar, they were able to withstand the waves. Other boats were not.

SOBOLEWSKI: As soon as that water hit those boats, they just pretty much blew apart and now there are all these people in the water hanging onto pieces of wood or parts of the boats yelling, "Help me, help me."

HENKE: You just do what has to be done. We didn't ever question what we had to do. You know, you grab as many people that you can grab right away and get them to safety.

ROWLANDS: As John and Julie pulled people into the boat, Casey jumped into a dinghy, a small rubber motorboat, to pick up as many children and people without life jackets as possible.

SOBOLEWSKI: They were very scared and shocked, and they were yelling, "Children, children!" They didn't speak much English. They spoke about enough to say, "Help me" and "thank you." A lot of "thank you."

ROWLANDS: After dropping off 21 people they went back and found more, including this group stranded on a rock. They also pulled in a woman who was dead.

SOBOLEWSKI: She was a snorkeler, and she was in the area where we were headed to snorkel.

HENKE: She still had a mask on her face. She had been snorkeling. She still had goggles on her face.

ROWLANDS: By the time the sun went down they had been at it for more than six hours. All told, they believe they pulled 35 people from the water.

HENKE: Ten minutes either way could have made a big difference for not only ourselves but for the 35 people we pulled out of the water.

ROWLANDS: They didn't realize the scope of the disaster until much later.

SOBOLEWSKI: It made me think a little bit about how important our family and our relationships and our friends are and how we're really just here for a short time.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Oceanside, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, 360, next our expanded edition. Scenes too horrible to look at, or horrors that must be seen? We'll take the stark reality to "The Nth Degree."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last thing I saw him, he was between a wall and a building, a concrete building just about four feet wide, and then that filled up with water quite quickly. So I have reason to believe that he just got swept away somewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Finally tonight, taking an unblinking view to "The Nth Degree."

A few of you have e-mailed us, not many, but a few, saying the pictures we've been showing you are too graphic. Now I understand the sentiment, but I hope you know that we don't want to show you these things.

None of us wants to see them. A parent silently screaming over the body of their lost infant. A child lost, searching for parents who may or may not be alive. Rows of bodies being cremated. No one wants to see this.

When I first became a reporter I worked mainly in war zones in Somalia and Sarajevo and Rwanda, places where you got used to seeing images that no one should see. Innocent, men, women and children cut down for no reason whatsoever, their bodies piled like cordwood.

Yes, these images are terrible to look at, but look at them we should, because these bodies, these people are us. Death has defaced them. The water has done its worst, but in life they were like you or me, teachers and shopkeepers, students and parents, bakers and doctors. People struggling, as we all struggle.

And so very many of them died alone anonymously. They'll go uncelebrated, unremarked on, picked up by bulldozers, buried in pits. They will simply disappear.

And that is why we think, hard as it is, we must make ourselves look. Otherwise, for so very many, it will never -- it will be like they never existed at all.

"LARRY KING LIVE" is next.

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