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CNN Live Today
Death Toll Mounting in Southeast Asia; Interview With CARE USA Director Ahuma Adodoadji
Aired December 27, 2004 - 10:59 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
The death toll is mounting from the massive tsunami disaster in southeastern Asia. Officials now say almost 22,000 people were killed. Giant waves triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake swept away entire coastal areas. We'll have extensive live coverage and a survivor's story just ahead.
In Baghdad today, a suicide car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of a leading Shiite political party. Iraqi police say at least six people were killed and dozens more were wounded. In another development, a leading Sunni party announced it will not participate in elections next month.
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko is claiming victory in Ukraine's presidential election. With nearly all the votes counted, election officials say Yushchenko holds a commanding lead over Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The election was a rerun of the bitter presidential contest marred by fraud.
Here in the U.S., a winter storm is wreaking havoc along the Eastern Seaboard. The storm spread sleet and freezing rain that has stranded hundreds along icy highways. It is also causing some flight delays. Thousands are without power in the Carolinas and New England.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
It is 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. for those of you waking up on the West Coast. From CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Rick Sanchez is on assignment.
Up first the hour, the aftermath of the epic disaster in southeastern Asia. The death toll is climbing. This a day after tsunamis swept across the region leaving coastlines littered with bodies and debris.
The walls of water smashed into posh resorts and washed away entire villages. The giant waves were triggered by the most powerful earthquake that's been measured in the last 40 years.
The magnitude 9 quake was centered just off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. More than 21,900 people are dead. That is the latest estimate. The highest toll so far is in Sri Lanka, where officials say more than 10,000 people were killed. Survivors of the tsunami disaster described the frantic, terrifying scramble to escape the approaching wall of water. Those who saw it coming had just seconds to react. ITN reporter John Irvine was vacationing with his family on a small island near Phuket, Thailand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN IRVINE, ITN REPORTER: I'm still somewhat shocked as are my wife Libby (ph) and our children, Elizabeth, who is age 9, and Peter, who is age 5, we do feel fortunate to have escaped with our lives following the events of yesterday morning. I heard a commotion on the beach; I ran down and saw a wall of water coming towards us.
It was about a hundred yards off the beach at that stage. My wife Libby (ph) had our daughter, but she cited to me to get Peter. He was standing at the water's edge looking out to sea.
He was mesmerized by the wave that was coming towards us, a single wave on a flat cam (ph) ocean. It was moving pretty quickly.
I ran for the boy, I grabbed him, and I could hear and feel the hiss of this wave coming -- coming behind us. We ran up the beach. The beach is only 20 -- 20 yards wide at most, and we ran through trees on to some grass.
And then I heard the bang as the wave broke on the beach and it came through the trees. And peter and I just were running as fast as we could. And we could hear the water, the onrush behind us.
It was your worst nightmare in a Hollywood disaster movie rolled into one. I glanced back and I could see coconuts and palm fronts and boulders in this water. And eventually the tidal wave caught up with us and we were washed away in it for about 50 yards, I guess.
We ended up in a rice patty with, you know, bits and pieces of debris washing around us. We were very lucky not to be hit by any of it.
It seemed as if it lasted forever, but I guess it was probably only 30 or 40 seconds. In the immediate aftermath, I looked for my wife and daughter. And I found Elizabeth in what was left of our beach bungalow.
She had made it there. I just couldn't get there in time. And so I just ran directly away from the wave. And she was in the bungalow, and much of the furniture in there was destroyed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: We're going to have more on that story just ahead. We have a team of reporters throughout the region covering the tsunami disaster. Live reports from several of them this hour.
Aneesh Raman gives us an update from Phuket, Thailand, where we were just hearing that story. Satinder Bindra will have the latest from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Atika Shubert is following the story from Jakarta, Indonesia. And Suhasini Haidar is in Madras, India.
The government in Thailand has set up domestic relief centers in areas that have been hit by the tsunamis. Centers have also been set up for tourists that found themselves caught up in this disaster. Our Aneesh Raman joins us. He is on Phuket, Thailand, with more -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.
We are on the west coast of the island, the part that got the hardest destruction. It was the closest to the epicenter of this earthquake.
The death toll today more than doubling. It now stands close to 900. All expectations are that it will rise past a thousand.
The reason for the dramatic jump, as of last night we were told some 400 to 600 people were still lost out in the ocean. Rescue efforts were ongoing to try and get anyone who was still alive. But beginning today, bodies began washing ashore. They're continuing to do so tonight. So it is likely, as I say, that that number will go up.
Here on Phuket Island, the death toll 130 people presumed dead. To the east of us on Phi Phi Island, the most severe destruction in terms of structural damage. The entire island basically wiped out. One official saying a clean sweep by the waves in taking out every building there. And further on the actual coastline of mainland Thailand in the south, the resort area of Pug Wan, there over 500 people now presumed dead.
We also know, Daryn, from the government that the majority of these casualties will be foreign tourists. As you mentioned, this area is a prime location for people to come. This is the peak season, and so multinationals are here.
We went to the hospital on Phuket. Some 22 nationalities among the survivors, Americans, Japanese, Koreans, Australians. All of them, Daryn, now desperate to get home.
KAGAN: Aneesh, what's being done to service those people both in helping them get home? And also, I imagine there are a lot of family members here in the U.S. and around the world that are trying to get in touch. Are there any kind of communication centers being set up?
RAMAN: There are. Initially that was the biggest concern. There was no communication going into the island. But a matter of hours after those 30-foot waves, two of them nearly simultaneously hit, now some 36 hours ago, people were able to call.
I talked to people, eyewitnesses that were on the ground hours after those tidal -- after those waves came in and they were simply just in chaos. They didn't know where to go. They didn't know what had happened. They didn't know where loved ones were.
And so a lot of relatives worldwide would have gotten just panicked calls from their relatives here. It is starting to stabilize. The Thai government trying to make those phone calls easier and really just trying to deal with those people that do want to leave.
The people that want to go to the capital city, free lodging is available to them. Six hospitals in Bangkok set aside just to deal with tourist casualties. And also, the foreign governments of countries are sending flights in both to get the bodies of their nationals, as well as to take home their injured -- Daryn.
KAGAN: What about -- and this is now especially for the domestic population there -- the unsanitary conditions that are just going to continue to escalate as this crisis goes on? Drinking water, trying to dispose of bodies, other difficult situations.
RAMAN: In one sense, comparative to the other areas that have been affected by the tsunami waves, Thailand is lucky. The infrastructure here on Phuket remains largely intact. No severe structural damage.
So shelter remains, hospitals remain. Water is still, for the most part, getting to the areas it needs to.
In terms though of the tides themselves, many of them would have been on the coastal areas. And there you saw the entire piers taken down by these -- by these huge waves. And so getting them relocated, basically, at this point is all that the Thai government can do.
A lot of them have to just literally rebuild their lives. So really, two constituencies for this government in this unprecedented the catastrophe trying to get the tourists the help they need and get them home, and trying to get the people that are Thai, to get their lives started again -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you'll be covering it for us. Aneesh Raman from Thailand. Thank you from Phuket Island.
We go from Thailand to India. The numbers there are absolutely staggering.
Authorities in India are digging mass graves today. They're looking at some 6,000 people who were killed in the tsunami disaster just in that country alone. Suhasini Haidar reports from Chalet Beach in southern India.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beaches across the south Indian coastline have been turned into cremation and burial grounds as people here come to grips with one of the worst natural disasters to hit their shores. Government officials say they are now losing hope of finding many survivors.
Thousands of bodies have been recovered, but officials say thousands more are missing. Many of them fishermen who were out to sea when the earthquakes and tsunamis hit. Officials are saying they are now trying to provide as best they can for those who are homeless. Thousands of men, women and children are pouring into schools and public buildings as the government tries to provide them with food, shelter and medicines.
Even so, officials say they are concerned about many places that are still inundated. They're saying many villages have washed away and the full extent of the damage here in India won't be known for at least a few days.
Suhasini Haidar, CNN, Chalet Beach, south India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Indian's island neighbor, Sri Lanka, appears to be hardest hit. Ten thousand or more people killed there. Our Satinder Bindra joins us via videophone near the capital of Colombo -- Satinder.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, it's just past 10:00 here in Colombo. And I'm standing at a relief center. Just about 1,500 people who've lost their homes, they're settling in for the night here. And some of them are going to sleep.
They've had an emotionally draining experience because just about 40 hours or so ago, Daryn, their homes along the coast were struck by two huge waves. These waves were really powerful. They smashed their homes. The roofs of several homes were literally blown apart. Large pieces of concrete were everywhere.
I went to one of these coastal communities, and debris was littered everywhere, debris was perhaps even 40 to 50 feet away on a highway all along the rail tracks. So these people after that emotional onslaught are trying to gather their thoughts.
Many people here have lost loved ones, but they're getting some emotional support in this relief center, which is a church. I should also add, Daryn, that this church is located on high ground so people have a sense of security, because it's quite obvious that people here are very scared that more killer waves could strike. So people really want to go to as high ground as possible -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Satinder, what is it about Sri Lanka that the numbers were so particularly high there?
BINDRA: Well, Sri Lanka was directly in the path of the water. The earthquake was centered close to Indonesia, and the water -- after the earthquake, the water just really rushed out from the epicenter of the -- of the quake. And Sri Lanka was about the closest land mass, about 1,400 kilometers or about a thousand miles roughly from the epicenter of the quake.
Now, Sri Lanka is also an island, so it's surrounded on all sides by water. And the eastern part of Sri Lanka which faces toward Indonesia was where the damage was most extensive. I'm here on the western part of Sri Lanka where the damage really is perhaps not quite as bad as the eastern part. It will still be another 24, perhaps 36 hours, Daryn, before somebody really gets a fix on how badly eastern Sri Lanka has been affected. Right now it's very, very hard. The logistics are extremely difficult to get to those eastern communities -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Satinder Bindra joining us from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thank you.
Coming up in the next hour of CNN, we're going to talk with relief agencies now launching a massive effort to help survivors of the tsunami disaster. That means the International Red Cross, groups like Mercy Corps. We're going to get the latest on the rescue and the recovery effort in the next hour right here on CNN.
Also, another amazing survivor story. A man whose boat was crushed by the tsunami just seconds after he jumped out, his story and some of those less fortunate coming up.
Humanitarian assistance already on the way to the hardest hit areas. I'll have a chance to talk with an official about what's needed and what you can do to help.
And later, disturbing video that appears to show terrorists planning and carrying out the attack on U.S. troops in Mosul, Iraq.
You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The Bush administration is pledging to help the Asian nations affected by the tsunami disaster, and private organizations are swinging into action as well. Ahuma Adodoadji is emergency director of CARE USA and is here with me in Atlanta.
This is when your organization goes into high gear.
AHUMA ADODOADJI, CARE USA: Yes. In fact, this morning we had a global conference. We had colleagues from across the region, from across the world, and we're mobilizing all of our resources and people on the ground.
KAGAN: You have people in Sri Lanka right now already in India.
ADODOADJI: Already, yes.
KAGAN: And you talked with them as of this morning.
ADODOADJI: Yes, this morning.
KAGAN: What are you hearing?
ADODOADJI: We've had programs in Sri Lanka for years. So we have contacts across the communities affected. They report that homes have been washed away, people have been washed away. But Sri Lanka has already mobilized a team, and we're looking at five locations. And we are currently feeding about 14,000 people. And that number keeps growing.
KAGAN: I would imagine.
ADODOADJI: And so we are pulling together all of our resources to make sure they get help to do what they need to do on the ground.
KAGAN: So I would imagine the immediate needs, food, drinking water, because that's a big concern about the drinking water staying sanitary.
ADODOADJI: Drinking water, yes.
KAGAN: And shelters.
ADODOADJI: Yes. Those are the critical needs. But from the point of view of somebody who might want to help, the key need is cash, because in Sri Lanka we are able to buy food at the local market.
KAGAN: So it's not going to help a small group. Don't gather blanketers, don't gather drinking water here, because transportation, to send it to an organization like yours or the Red Cross or another, it's just going to be one more thing for you to do.
ADODOADJI: Yes. At this point, we're saying cash is the critical need at this point. Later on it may change because the situation is unfolding very rapidly. And we're going to be having daily -- in fact, almost hourly updates as we keep in touch with our colleagues on the ground and so on.
KAGAN: And you make a good point when you say later...
ADODOADJI : Yes.
KAGAN: ... because this is not something that's going to be over in a day, a week or a month. This is a long-term crisis.
ADODOADJI: No. It is a long-term crisis. In India, we already have mobilized a team on the ground. In the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) area we have a network of eight community-based organizations CARE already has relationships with them, and we're using that network to mount a major operation to address those impacted by this major humanitarian crisis.
KAGAN: CNN has correspondents, of course, more places than any network. And what we're hearing from those correspondents, because these are some of the most beautiful places on earth, there are basically two populations to service here. You have the locals...
ADODOADJI: Yes.
KAGAN: ... and that's a whole situation of trying to rebuild their lives. But you also have thousands of tourists... ADODOADJI: Tourists, yes.
KAGAN: ... that have either been killed or hurt or trying to get home.
ADODOADJI: Yes, I know. It's a major disaster. It is likely that most of the tourists will get air-lifted by the various governments back home. Most from the western countries. But the local populations are those who bear the brunt of the suffering. And at this point, that is the major focus of our response.
KAGAN: Well, we wish you well with your efforts. If people want more information on your organization, a Web site?
ADODOADJI: Yes. It's www.care.org. And you get all of the information you need.
KAGAN: Very good.
ADODOADJI: And we welcome all of the support. We need to address this major humanitarian catastrophe.
KAGAN: Well, we certainly wish you well with your efforts. Important, important work. Ahuma Adodoadji, thank you, with CARE USA.
ADODOADJI: Thank you, Daryn. Thank you very much.
KAGAN: Thank you so much.
We're also standing by. We expect to hear from the U.N. relief emergency coordinator. He'll be giving a news conference and speaking at the United Nations. And when that happens you're going to see that live here on CNN.
We continue our coverage. The pictures really telling the story best. The force and power of a wall of water, we'll have a look at the science of the tsunami.
And on a totally different note, if you are planning for financial success in the new year, we're going to have a finance expert, Terry Savidge (ph). She joins with us tips on getting organized for the new year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The earthquake that triggered the devastating tsunamis in southeast Asia was the strongest to hit the planet since 1964. It sent massive waves barreling toward coastal areas.
For more on the science of tsunamis, we're going to bring back CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney.
You go d a good job of explaining in the last hour. You've come with additional.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: New information. KAGAN: Yes.
SIDNEY: You know, a lot of people, I suppose, would wonder, can this happen anywhere?
KAGAN: Well, can it happen here? Let's just talk about it. Can it happen on the Pacific or East Coast of the U.S.?
SIDNEY: Any -- basically, anywhere along a coast you could have tsunamis. Not only are they caused by earthquakes, but volcanic eruptions can cause them, landslides can cause them. And believe it or not, if there's a large enough meteor strike in the ocean, that generates a tsunami just like if you toss a rock into a pond.
KAGAN: Like the ripple effect.
SIDNEY: Ripples, exactly.
KAGAN: The difference, though, the warning system that at least is on the West Coast, but not on the East Coast.
SIDNEY: That's correct. The East Coast, it's a totally different type of system that creates earthquakes in the Pacific than in the Atlantic.
The Atlantic is a different type of geological center, don't get very many large earthquakes there. Some do happen, but generally not. So the Pacific is where we're most concerned. And I've got a map actually that will show you in just a moment where the most vulnerable areas for the United States are.
Take a look at some of graphics real quickly. And I wanted to show you, first of all, kind of a little refresher as to what is happening here.
We've got two plates where we had this big earthquake over the weekend. The Australian plate on the southwest there, in the northeast the Eurasian plate. They bump up against each other. And one's got to go somewhere.
So the Australian plate actually dives beneath the Eurasian plate, and that's what creates these very deep trenches. And that is also where we find those very strong earthquakes.
Now, another thing that we find along this area -- we call these subduction zones -- are island arcs. Keep that in mind, because that's going to come back to you later.
These island arcs are almost fingerprints. When you see those, you know you've got subduction zones there. Not only do you get large earthquakes, but you get volcanoes in those areas. And in this particular instance, in 1883, Krakatoa erupted. The largest sound ever heard on the planet in 1883 from this particular eruption.
Now, I'm showing you some vulnerable U.S. locations in order. Number one, obviously, Hawaii. Lots of coastline. They have had some problems in the past back in the '40s. Several people died when a tsunami came through. I think the latest one, if I'm not mistaken, was in 1975, where two people died.
Second most vulnerable location, does that look familiar? The Aleutian Islands. That's an island arc. That's another place where you have subduction, very strong earthquakes.
You mentioned the 1964 earthquake in Alaska, 9.2. The third most vulnerable place in the United States, the entire Pacific coastline. But as you mentioned, we do have tsunami warning centers in the Pacific. One's located in Hawaii, and I think they have a couple of offices on the mainland as well.
And when an earthquake happens, the first thing they do is go and try to evaluate if this is going to generate a dangerous tsunami where those are going to go. So we get lots of warning. If it's too close to the coast, obviously you don't get much warning at all.
KAGAN: Right.
SIDNEY: If it's just off shore, there's not enough time to evacuate. In most cases, though, you get 20 minutes to an hour or so. You can get people off the beach.
KAGAN: Certainly better than what we saw happen across southeast Asia.
SIDNEY: That's exactly right.
KAGAN: Let's talk about the force of the water, how fast it came in...
SIDNEY: Oh, it's amazing.
KAGAN: ... how quickly it came in, and the strength it came in with.
SIDNEY: It's amazing. I've been doing some tsunami research, and it's true that they can travel 600 miles an hour while out over the water.
Now, when they start to approach land, the bottom of the wave, if you will, starts to slow down because of the friction with the sea's surface. So it does slow down quite a bit, maybe about 30 miles an hour. But imagine a 30-foot wall of water coming at you at 30 miles an hour. Imagine driving your car that fast into something.
Not only does that happen, but the waves start to compress together as they get closer to the coast. So where you might have had two waves at 10 feet, you get one big wave at 20 feet. And those also come in not as just one wave, but a series of waves. So the first wave comes in, picks up all this debris. And we're talking about cars, rooftops...
KAGAN: Entire buildings, yes. SIDNEY: ... buildings. Moving them back out to sea. And then the second wave takes all of that debris and slams it right back into the coast again. It's just absolutely devastating. It's a lot -- in the sense was damage, it's a lot like a storm surge, but much, much more intense, and much, much more widespread in most cases.
KAGAN: And faster. And unfortunately, also swept in all that people.
SIDNEY: That's exactly right, people, animals. And, you know, you get caught in something like that, it comes on you so fast.
A lot of times what will happen is the water actually rushes out of the beach. And so you go on the beach and think, where's all of the water? And people become very excited and they actually go down into the beach.
KAGAN: And in comes the next wave.
SIDNEY: The next wave comes in.
KAGAN: And you don't have a chance.
SIDNEY: And it's way too late.
KAGAN: All right. Orelon, thanks for the explanation.
SIDNEY: You're very welcome.
KAGAN: Appreciate that.
Well, as we were mentioning throughout the morning, thousands have been killed, some of them tourists. We're going to hear one survivor's story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 27, 2004 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
The death toll is mounting from the massive tsunami disaster in southeastern Asia. Officials now say almost 22,000 people were killed. Giant waves triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake swept away entire coastal areas. We'll have extensive live coverage and a survivor's story just ahead.
In Baghdad today, a suicide car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of a leading Shiite political party. Iraqi police say at least six people were killed and dozens more were wounded. In another development, a leading Sunni party announced it will not participate in elections next month.
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko is claiming victory in Ukraine's presidential election. With nearly all the votes counted, election officials say Yushchenko holds a commanding lead over Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The election was a rerun of the bitter presidential contest marred by fraud.
Here in the U.S., a winter storm is wreaking havoc along the Eastern Seaboard. The storm spread sleet and freezing rain that has stranded hundreds along icy highways. It is also causing some flight delays. Thousands are without power in the Carolinas and New England.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
It is 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. for those of you waking up on the West Coast. From CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Rick Sanchez is on assignment.
Up first the hour, the aftermath of the epic disaster in southeastern Asia. The death toll is climbing. This a day after tsunamis swept across the region leaving coastlines littered with bodies and debris.
The walls of water smashed into posh resorts and washed away entire villages. The giant waves were triggered by the most powerful earthquake that's been measured in the last 40 years.
The magnitude 9 quake was centered just off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. More than 21,900 people are dead. That is the latest estimate. The highest toll so far is in Sri Lanka, where officials say more than 10,000 people were killed. Survivors of the tsunami disaster described the frantic, terrifying scramble to escape the approaching wall of water. Those who saw it coming had just seconds to react. ITN reporter John Irvine was vacationing with his family on a small island near Phuket, Thailand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN IRVINE, ITN REPORTER: I'm still somewhat shocked as are my wife Libby (ph) and our children, Elizabeth, who is age 9, and Peter, who is age 5, we do feel fortunate to have escaped with our lives following the events of yesterday morning. I heard a commotion on the beach; I ran down and saw a wall of water coming towards us.
It was about a hundred yards off the beach at that stage. My wife Libby (ph) had our daughter, but she cited to me to get Peter. He was standing at the water's edge looking out to sea.
He was mesmerized by the wave that was coming towards us, a single wave on a flat cam (ph) ocean. It was moving pretty quickly.
I ran for the boy, I grabbed him, and I could hear and feel the hiss of this wave coming -- coming behind us. We ran up the beach. The beach is only 20 -- 20 yards wide at most, and we ran through trees on to some grass.
And then I heard the bang as the wave broke on the beach and it came through the trees. And peter and I just were running as fast as we could. And we could hear the water, the onrush behind us.
It was your worst nightmare in a Hollywood disaster movie rolled into one. I glanced back and I could see coconuts and palm fronts and boulders in this water. And eventually the tidal wave caught up with us and we were washed away in it for about 50 yards, I guess.
We ended up in a rice patty with, you know, bits and pieces of debris washing around us. We were very lucky not to be hit by any of it.
It seemed as if it lasted forever, but I guess it was probably only 30 or 40 seconds. In the immediate aftermath, I looked for my wife and daughter. And I found Elizabeth in what was left of our beach bungalow.
She had made it there. I just couldn't get there in time. And so I just ran directly away from the wave. And she was in the bungalow, and much of the furniture in there was destroyed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: We're going to have more on that story just ahead. We have a team of reporters throughout the region covering the tsunami disaster. Live reports from several of them this hour.
Aneesh Raman gives us an update from Phuket, Thailand, where we were just hearing that story. Satinder Bindra will have the latest from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Atika Shubert is following the story from Jakarta, Indonesia. And Suhasini Haidar is in Madras, India.
The government in Thailand has set up domestic relief centers in areas that have been hit by the tsunamis. Centers have also been set up for tourists that found themselves caught up in this disaster. Our Aneesh Raman joins us. He is on Phuket, Thailand, with more -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.
We are on the west coast of the island, the part that got the hardest destruction. It was the closest to the epicenter of this earthquake.
The death toll today more than doubling. It now stands close to 900. All expectations are that it will rise past a thousand.
The reason for the dramatic jump, as of last night we were told some 400 to 600 people were still lost out in the ocean. Rescue efforts were ongoing to try and get anyone who was still alive. But beginning today, bodies began washing ashore. They're continuing to do so tonight. So it is likely, as I say, that that number will go up.
Here on Phuket Island, the death toll 130 people presumed dead. To the east of us on Phi Phi Island, the most severe destruction in terms of structural damage. The entire island basically wiped out. One official saying a clean sweep by the waves in taking out every building there. And further on the actual coastline of mainland Thailand in the south, the resort area of Pug Wan, there over 500 people now presumed dead.
We also know, Daryn, from the government that the majority of these casualties will be foreign tourists. As you mentioned, this area is a prime location for people to come. This is the peak season, and so multinationals are here.
We went to the hospital on Phuket. Some 22 nationalities among the survivors, Americans, Japanese, Koreans, Australians. All of them, Daryn, now desperate to get home.
KAGAN: Aneesh, what's being done to service those people both in helping them get home? And also, I imagine there are a lot of family members here in the U.S. and around the world that are trying to get in touch. Are there any kind of communication centers being set up?
RAMAN: There are. Initially that was the biggest concern. There was no communication going into the island. But a matter of hours after those 30-foot waves, two of them nearly simultaneously hit, now some 36 hours ago, people were able to call.
I talked to people, eyewitnesses that were on the ground hours after those tidal -- after those waves came in and they were simply just in chaos. They didn't know where to go. They didn't know what had happened. They didn't know where loved ones were.
And so a lot of relatives worldwide would have gotten just panicked calls from their relatives here. It is starting to stabilize. The Thai government trying to make those phone calls easier and really just trying to deal with those people that do want to leave.
The people that want to go to the capital city, free lodging is available to them. Six hospitals in Bangkok set aside just to deal with tourist casualties. And also, the foreign governments of countries are sending flights in both to get the bodies of their nationals, as well as to take home their injured -- Daryn.
KAGAN: What about -- and this is now especially for the domestic population there -- the unsanitary conditions that are just going to continue to escalate as this crisis goes on? Drinking water, trying to dispose of bodies, other difficult situations.
RAMAN: In one sense, comparative to the other areas that have been affected by the tsunami waves, Thailand is lucky. The infrastructure here on Phuket remains largely intact. No severe structural damage.
So shelter remains, hospitals remain. Water is still, for the most part, getting to the areas it needs to.
In terms though of the tides themselves, many of them would have been on the coastal areas. And there you saw the entire piers taken down by these -- by these huge waves. And so getting them relocated, basically, at this point is all that the Thai government can do.
A lot of them have to just literally rebuild their lives. So really, two constituencies for this government in this unprecedented the catastrophe trying to get the tourists the help they need and get them home, and trying to get the people that are Thai, to get their lives started again -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you'll be covering it for us. Aneesh Raman from Thailand. Thank you from Phuket Island.
We go from Thailand to India. The numbers there are absolutely staggering.
Authorities in India are digging mass graves today. They're looking at some 6,000 people who were killed in the tsunami disaster just in that country alone. Suhasini Haidar reports from Chalet Beach in southern India.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beaches across the south Indian coastline have been turned into cremation and burial grounds as people here come to grips with one of the worst natural disasters to hit their shores. Government officials say they are now losing hope of finding many survivors.
Thousands of bodies have been recovered, but officials say thousands more are missing. Many of them fishermen who were out to sea when the earthquakes and tsunamis hit. Officials are saying they are now trying to provide as best they can for those who are homeless. Thousands of men, women and children are pouring into schools and public buildings as the government tries to provide them with food, shelter and medicines.
Even so, officials say they are concerned about many places that are still inundated. They're saying many villages have washed away and the full extent of the damage here in India won't be known for at least a few days.
Suhasini Haidar, CNN, Chalet Beach, south India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Indian's island neighbor, Sri Lanka, appears to be hardest hit. Ten thousand or more people killed there. Our Satinder Bindra joins us via videophone near the capital of Colombo -- Satinder.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, it's just past 10:00 here in Colombo. And I'm standing at a relief center. Just about 1,500 people who've lost their homes, they're settling in for the night here. And some of them are going to sleep.
They've had an emotionally draining experience because just about 40 hours or so ago, Daryn, their homes along the coast were struck by two huge waves. These waves were really powerful. They smashed their homes. The roofs of several homes were literally blown apart. Large pieces of concrete were everywhere.
I went to one of these coastal communities, and debris was littered everywhere, debris was perhaps even 40 to 50 feet away on a highway all along the rail tracks. So these people after that emotional onslaught are trying to gather their thoughts.
Many people here have lost loved ones, but they're getting some emotional support in this relief center, which is a church. I should also add, Daryn, that this church is located on high ground so people have a sense of security, because it's quite obvious that people here are very scared that more killer waves could strike. So people really want to go to as high ground as possible -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Satinder, what is it about Sri Lanka that the numbers were so particularly high there?
BINDRA: Well, Sri Lanka was directly in the path of the water. The earthquake was centered close to Indonesia, and the water -- after the earthquake, the water just really rushed out from the epicenter of the -- of the quake. And Sri Lanka was about the closest land mass, about 1,400 kilometers or about a thousand miles roughly from the epicenter of the quake.
Now, Sri Lanka is also an island, so it's surrounded on all sides by water. And the eastern part of Sri Lanka which faces toward Indonesia was where the damage was most extensive. I'm here on the western part of Sri Lanka where the damage really is perhaps not quite as bad as the eastern part. It will still be another 24, perhaps 36 hours, Daryn, before somebody really gets a fix on how badly eastern Sri Lanka has been affected. Right now it's very, very hard. The logistics are extremely difficult to get to those eastern communities -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Satinder Bindra joining us from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thank you.
Coming up in the next hour of CNN, we're going to talk with relief agencies now launching a massive effort to help survivors of the tsunami disaster. That means the International Red Cross, groups like Mercy Corps. We're going to get the latest on the rescue and the recovery effort in the next hour right here on CNN.
Also, another amazing survivor story. A man whose boat was crushed by the tsunami just seconds after he jumped out, his story and some of those less fortunate coming up.
Humanitarian assistance already on the way to the hardest hit areas. I'll have a chance to talk with an official about what's needed and what you can do to help.
And later, disturbing video that appears to show terrorists planning and carrying out the attack on U.S. troops in Mosul, Iraq.
You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The Bush administration is pledging to help the Asian nations affected by the tsunami disaster, and private organizations are swinging into action as well. Ahuma Adodoadji is emergency director of CARE USA and is here with me in Atlanta.
This is when your organization goes into high gear.
AHUMA ADODOADJI, CARE USA: Yes. In fact, this morning we had a global conference. We had colleagues from across the region, from across the world, and we're mobilizing all of our resources and people on the ground.
KAGAN: You have people in Sri Lanka right now already in India.
ADODOADJI: Already, yes.
KAGAN: And you talked with them as of this morning.
ADODOADJI: Yes, this morning.
KAGAN: What are you hearing?
ADODOADJI: We've had programs in Sri Lanka for years. So we have contacts across the communities affected. They report that homes have been washed away, people have been washed away. But Sri Lanka has already mobilized a team, and we're looking at five locations. And we are currently feeding about 14,000 people. And that number keeps growing.
KAGAN: I would imagine.
ADODOADJI: And so we are pulling together all of our resources to make sure they get help to do what they need to do on the ground.
KAGAN: So I would imagine the immediate needs, food, drinking water, because that's a big concern about the drinking water staying sanitary.
ADODOADJI: Drinking water, yes.
KAGAN: And shelters.
ADODOADJI: Yes. Those are the critical needs. But from the point of view of somebody who might want to help, the key need is cash, because in Sri Lanka we are able to buy food at the local market.
KAGAN: So it's not going to help a small group. Don't gather blanketers, don't gather drinking water here, because transportation, to send it to an organization like yours or the Red Cross or another, it's just going to be one more thing for you to do.
ADODOADJI: Yes. At this point, we're saying cash is the critical need at this point. Later on it may change because the situation is unfolding very rapidly. And we're going to be having daily -- in fact, almost hourly updates as we keep in touch with our colleagues on the ground and so on.
KAGAN: And you make a good point when you say later...
ADODOADJI : Yes.
KAGAN: ... because this is not something that's going to be over in a day, a week or a month. This is a long-term crisis.
ADODOADJI: No. It is a long-term crisis. In India, we already have mobilized a team on the ground. In the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) area we have a network of eight community-based organizations CARE already has relationships with them, and we're using that network to mount a major operation to address those impacted by this major humanitarian crisis.
KAGAN: CNN has correspondents, of course, more places than any network. And what we're hearing from those correspondents, because these are some of the most beautiful places on earth, there are basically two populations to service here. You have the locals...
ADODOADJI: Yes.
KAGAN: ... and that's a whole situation of trying to rebuild their lives. But you also have thousands of tourists... ADODOADJI: Tourists, yes.
KAGAN: ... that have either been killed or hurt or trying to get home.
ADODOADJI: Yes, I know. It's a major disaster. It is likely that most of the tourists will get air-lifted by the various governments back home. Most from the western countries. But the local populations are those who bear the brunt of the suffering. And at this point, that is the major focus of our response.
KAGAN: Well, we wish you well with your efforts. If people want more information on your organization, a Web site?
ADODOADJI: Yes. It's www.care.org. And you get all of the information you need.
KAGAN: Very good.
ADODOADJI: And we welcome all of the support. We need to address this major humanitarian catastrophe.
KAGAN: Well, we certainly wish you well with your efforts. Important, important work. Ahuma Adodoadji, thank you, with CARE USA.
ADODOADJI: Thank you, Daryn. Thank you very much.
KAGAN: Thank you so much.
We're also standing by. We expect to hear from the U.N. relief emergency coordinator. He'll be giving a news conference and speaking at the United Nations. And when that happens you're going to see that live here on CNN.
We continue our coverage. The pictures really telling the story best. The force and power of a wall of water, we'll have a look at the science of the tsunami.
And on a totally different note, if you are planning for financial success in the new year, we're going to have a finance expert, Terry Savidge (ph). She joins with us tips on getting organized for the new year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The earthquake that triggered the devastating tsunamis in southeast Asia was the strongest to hit the planet since 1964. It sent massive waves barreling toward coastal areas.
For more on the science of tsunamis, we're going to bring back CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney.
You go d a good job of explaining in the last hour. You've come with additional.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: New information. KAGAN: Yes.
SIDNEY: You know, a lot of people, I suppose, would wonder, can this happen anywhere?
KAGAN: Well, can it happen here? Let's just talk about it. Can it happen on the Pacific or East Coast of the U.S.?
SIDNEY: Any -- basically, anywhere along a coast you could have tsunamis. Not only are they caused by earthquakes, but volcanic eruptions can cause them, landslides can cause them. And believe it or not, if there's a large enough meteor strike in the ocean, that generates a tsunami just like if you toss a rock into a pond.
KAGAN: Like the ripple effect.
SIDNEY: Ripples, exactly.
KAGAN: The difference, though, the warning system that at least is on the West Coast, but not on the East Coast.
SIDNEY: That's correct. The East Coast, it's a totally different type of system that creates earthquakes in the Pacific than in the Atlantic.
The Atlantic is a different type of geological center, don't get very many large earthquakes there. Some do happen, but generally not. So the Pacific is where we're most concerned. And I've got a map actually that will show you in just a moment where the most vulnerable areas for the United States are.
Take a look at some of graphics real quickly. And I wanted to show you, first of all, kind of a little refresher as to what is happening here.
We've got two plates where we had this big earthquake over the weekend. The Australian plate on the southwest there, in the northeast the Eurasian plate. They bump up against each other. And one's got to go somewhere.
So the Australian plate actually dives beneath the Eurasian plate, and that's what creates these very deep trenches. And that is also where we find those very strong earthquakes.
Now, another thing that we find along this area -- we call these subduction zones -- are island arcs. Keep that in mind, because that's going to come back to you later.
These island arcs are almost fingerprints. When you see those, you know you've got subduction zones there. Not only do you get large earthquakes, but you get volcanoes in those areas. And in this particular instance, in 1883, Krakatoa erupted. The largest sound ever heard on the planet in 1883 from this particular eruption.
Now, I'm showing you some vulnerable U.S. locations in order. Number one, obviously, Hawaii. Lots of coastline. They have had some problems in the past back in the '40s. Several people died when a tsunami came through. I think the latest one, if I'm not mistaken, was in 1975, where two people died.
Second most vulnerable location, does that look familiar? The Aleutian Islands. That's an island arc. That's another place where you have subduction, very strong earthquakes.
You mentioned the 1964 earthquake in Alaska, 9.2. The third most vulnerable place in the United States, the entire Pacific coastline. But as you mentioned, we do have tsunami warning centers in the Pacific. One's located in Hawaii, and I think they have a couple of offices on the mainland as well.
And when an earthquake happens, the first thing they do is go and try to evaluate if this is going to generate a dangerous tsunami where those are going to go. So we get lots of warning. If it's too close to the coast, obviously you don't get much warning at all.
KAGAN: Right.
SIDNEY: If it's just off shore, there's not enough time to evacuate. In most cases, though, you get 20 minutes to an hour or so. You can get people off the beach.
KAGAN: Certainly better than what we saw happen across southeast Asia.
SIDNEY: That's exactly right.
KAGAN: Let's talk about the force of the water, how fast it came in...
SIDNEY: Oh, it's amazing.
KAGAN: ... how quickly it came in, and the strength it came in with.
SIDNEY: It's amazing. I've been doing some tsunami research, and it's true that they can travel 600 miles an hour while out over the water.
Now, when they start to approach land, the bottom of the wave, if you will, starts to slow down because of the friction with the sea's surface. So it does slow down quite a bit, maybe about 30 miles an hour. But imagine a 30-foot wall of water coming at you at 30 miles an hour. Imagine driving your car that fast into something.
Not only does that happen, but the waves start to compress together as they get closer to the coast. So where you might have had two waves at 10 feet, you get one big wave at 20 feet. And those also come in not as just one wave, but a series of waves. So the first wave comes in, picks up all this debris. And we're talking about cars, rooftops...
KAGAN: Entire buildings, yes. SIDNEY: ... buildings. Moving them back out to sea. And then the second wave takes all of that debris and slams it right back into the coast again. It's just absolutely devastating. It's a lot -- in the sense was damage, it's a lot like a storm surge, but much, much more intense, and much, much more widespread in most cases.
KAGAN: And faster. And unfortunately, also swept in all that people.
SIDNEY: That's exactly right, people, animals. And, you know, you get caught in something like that, it comes on you so fast.
A lot of times what will happen is the water actually rushes out of the beach. And so you go on the beach and think, where's all of the water? And people become very excited and they actually go down into the beach.
KAGAN: And in comes the next wave.
SIDNEY: The next wave comes in.
KAGAN: And you don't have a chance.
SIDNEY: And it's way too late.
KAGAN: All right. Orelon, thanks for the explanation.
SIDNEY: You're very welcome.
KAGAN: Appreciate that.
Well, as we were mentioning throughout the morning, thousands have been killed, some of them tourists. We're going to hear one survivor's story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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