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Tsunami Death Toll Now Tops 80,000; Bush Announces More Aid to Tsunami Ravaged Countries
Aired December 29, 2004 - 10:00 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.
RICK SANCHEZ, CO-ANCHOR: Let's take it to Atlanta.
HEIDI COLLINS, CO-ANCHOR: In the meantime, we have Daryn Kagan standing by in Atlanta to take things from here on this difficult day with many more difficult days to come -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: Yes. And with that it says all the work to come. We're going to here from President Bush, actually see him, not just hear him.
You guys have a good day in New York City. We will get started by taking a look at what's happening now in the news.
The tsunami death toll now tops 80,000. No signs of that number leveling off. About half of the bodies have been found in Indonesia. Crews are now just getting to remote areas three and half days after a nearby earthquake triggered the tsunami.
There is a new fear for tsunami survivors. Health experts warn the number of dead could double from disease. To prevent that, hundreds of bodies are being dumped into massive graves, and aid workers are rushing to get clean water to survivors.
Insurgents strike with a Baghdad booby-trap. Twenty-Eight people including Iraqi police were killed in an explosion last night. Iraqi officers responded to a call that a gunman was firing from a house. But when police entered the building it blew up.
And the accused deer hunter killer is back in court this hour. A judge will decide if there's enough evidence to send Chai Vang to trial. Police in Wisconsin say that he killed six hunters and wounded two others. Vang allegedly started shooting after a trespassing dispute.
The tsunami tragedy deepens by the hour. Here now are some of the latest figures we have at CNN. CNN has just confirmed more than 80,000 people are dead in 11 countries, as many as one-third of the victims may be children.
Reporting from Banda Aceh Indonesia, CNN's Mike Chinoy says the provincial capitol has been completely devastated. And the global relief effort rises to meet a monumental challenge. The U.S., Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia have pledged so far more than $80 million.
We have seen many terrifying pictures of the tsunami hitting Thailand but almost none from Indonesia. That's because it is much closer to the epicenter of the earthquake that resulted in the tsunami.
Sumatra Island was hit with 60-foot wall of water. The death toll there also staggering. Bulldozers plowing open, gaping pits for mass burials for the dead. Hospitals struggling to help the living. But most the scenes are almost equally grim.
Atika Shubert has a report from the devastated Indonesian city of Banda Aceh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): These are the lucky ones. Udah is 8 years old. He was playing outside his house when a tsunami wave swallowed him whole. He does not remember how he got to this hospital. The only people he speaks to are Sudiati and Mardiana, two sisters swept by the tsunami waves. They have lost their children and 13 members of their family.
"The water was black," Sudiati tells us. "I swallowed so much water as it carried me out of the village turning me over and over. I landed on the roof of the mosque. I reached out and held on to a piece of wood with all my strength. That's what saved me."
They found Udah weeping near the hospital morgue. "We tried to help him and get a doctor to look at his eye," Mardiana says. "His parents, his whole family are gone." In the midst of this devastation they have become a family.
(on camera): We came to this hospital to talk to victims like Udah, but within minutes we were surrounded by other victims, people looking for their missing family members, all with their own horrific stories; every one of them asking why the world has not responded faster to this horrific disaster in Aceh.
(voice-over): Everyone in this hospital has lost at least one family member. They tell stories of entire villages wiped out, bodies as far as they can see. This man cries to us, "Please tell the world. Where is America? Please help to round up the bodies. There is no one left to save. Just help us bury the dead."
This hospital has virtually no doctors or staff, either killed or searching for their own missing families. This Malaysian volunteer was the first doctor we saw, he has covered major earthquakes before. This he says is the worst he's seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have got no water. Sanitation is zero. The commodes are overflowing. There is no access to clean water right now. People are sleeping on the streets. There's no food. Most of the people over here, they have not eaten in about three days.
SCHUBERT: Mercy Malaysia was the first international aid agency in Aceh, more help is needed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anyone expected anything like this. No one expected it, it happened so fast.
SCHUBERT: Until more help arrives, Mardiana, Sudiati and Udah are doing the best they can, if only to comfort each other.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And just as in Atika's piece there, perhaps the most haunting images from the tsunami disaster are of children. Lifeless bodies of countless children lining makeshift morgues across several hard-hit countries. The woman in charge of UNICEF, the U.N. agency devoted to children, explains the child fatalities in this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL BELLAMY, EXEC. DIREC., UNICEF: One mention of the impact on children, because I think there's been some mention of the fact that perhaps up to a third of the casualties could be children. That's really based very much on the fact that the percentage of the population in most of these countries is young.
Virtually no country has a population with less than a third of its population 18 years and below. Some countries, up to 50 percent of the population is young. So, it's really based on that.
Also, kids are the least able to run, the least able to hold on. They can run, but the least able to withstand the flooding or holding on. So that's one of the reasons children have particularly been affected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And so people around the world are adding to the aid picture by donating to groups such as UNICEF.
Now, one of the most gripping pieces of video of the tsunami washing ashore. Take a look.
This home video was shot by a tourist in Phuket, Thailand as people were screaming, the man raced outside, captured the first waves of the tsunami crashing into the beach-front resort. On the lower left side of your television, you might see an elderly couple trapped by the raging waters. A crashing wave swept them away. Hundreds of tourists from that area are still missing.
And this video comes to us from Banda Aceh, the Indonesian city that was virtually washed away. Here a home video capturing the horror in both images and sound, as floodwaters sweep away homes and lives. Today, one U.N. official says the death toll in just this area alone, in the Aceh province, could reach 80,000 people.
This of course, is the peak season for the Thai culture resorts and an estimated two-thirds of the tsunami victims in that area are tourists.
Aneesh Raman is the Thai province of Phang Nga with an update on the situation there -- Aneesh. ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you. As you say we are in the southern coastal proof Vince of Phang Nga. In the past few hours, the latest death toll here alone now more than 1,200 presumed dead. It is likely that number will rise. Reports are that it could even double or triple as we go forward.
Bodies are still being pulled from what is left of this beachfront area. While this is the furthest from the epicenters, islands of Phuket and Phi Phi lie further to the west, the damage is severe. This was a lowland area without much infrastructure to combat the force of the waves as they came in.
Driving around today, we saw cars. We saw buses. We even saw 100-foot steel police ship, some mile inland. It gives you a sense of how strong these waves were and the kinds of debris they carried with them. Bodies today, about four to six pulled out. Yesterday, Daryn, we are told you couldn't stand where we are. The stench of the corpses was just that strong. But the situation at least here is starting to stabilize.
And so rescue efforts are trying to move further north from where we are to hotels, such as Sofitel and other marquee buildings that have all but collapsed. We tried to visit some of them. You can only get so far because officials fear people might still be trapped or that the buildings could collapse further.
We have thousands of people, Daryn, still missing. And as we now enter the finalized, the third day of rescue and relief efforts, the hope of finding them alive is dwindling fast. Today, Daryn, was the first day of these efforts that no survivor was found.
KAGAN: Aneesh, let me ask you about these two different groups of people that need to be served, the tourists and the locals. Is there any kind of controversy developing about where the resources are being sent?
RAMAN: Well, I think so far not really. The majority of the people affected here in Thailand were tourists or were the local community who worked within the tourism industry. These were all coastal areas, and the magnitude of the waves hit hard on those resort beaches.
So, the Thai government really doing that dual challenge. At one level, helping the tourists who are injured, who are in a foreign land, completely dealing with untold horrors, in terms of the psychological impact and desperately want to get home.
At the same level, the Thai government is very aware that the locals here have to rebuild their lives. The ones that were affected, as we say, worked in the industry. They had shops on this island. This is where they made their money. For three months of work they funded themselves for the entire year. Now they have nowhere to go. They have no money to live on and nowhere to call home. And so the Thai government is aware they have to relocate them and try and help them start their lives over.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman in Phang Nga in Thailand, thank you for that.
Well, the ocean's strange activity on a beautiful day drew lots of curious onlookers to the shore. We're going to hear one eyewitness in Sri Lanka tell what it was like when that amazement turned to deadly fear.
Plus, lots of people are donating to relief organizations to help out tsunami survivors. Others though, are organizing relief efforts on a smaller, more personal scale.
And later, a look at a tsunami warning system; it's in place in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Could a similar system have helped Southeast Asia last Sunday?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Different type of water story, this one in Southern California. A powerful storm-dumping heavy rains. Floodwaters washing over much of Los Angeles, San Diego and the threat of more rain is looming overhead. So, too are fears of mudslides and rockslides across the area.
Rob Marciano is doing weather for us. It's always sunny in Southern California for the Rose Parade.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, you are almost right about that.
KAGAN: Well, I grew up there.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: But I thought it never rained in southern California.
KAGAN: No. Well, clearly it does.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Well, for four day now, we have been following the tsunami and also trying to look beyond the staggering numbers of the disaster. Trying to reveal the very human element of the tragedy. Nothing seems to capture that horror more than those who've been touched by it.
One e-mail sent to us here at CNN -- we're just going to go to the website and read from there.
One woman wrote, "My brother works at a hotel on a beach. When the tsunami hit he was near the swimming pool. When he saw a 40-foot wave coming toward him, he pulled four kids out of the pool and ran towards the hotel. Within 10 seconds, a strong wave smacked his back. He was able to get to safety, but a woman died in his arms as he was trying to rescue her." And that coming in from Sri Lanka. We have two things working on cnn.com. Of course, you can go there 24 hours a day and get the latest on the disaster, but also post your own story. And then there is a fascinating and heart-wrenching area to look at as well. People are making personal appeals for missing friends, missing family members. If you need to do the same thing, or if you're trying to help somebody find somebody, just go to cnn.com/quake.
And we will bring you more stories of the missing in our continuing coverage of the tsunami disaster.
Also, we will bring you President Bush. He is at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. In the last hour, we heard the audio of what he had to say. The president, these are the first remarks that he has made. There was a paper statement he released earlier, but coming out talking about the tsunami disaster.
The audio released in the last hour. Coming now, we're going to see the videotape of the same comments the president made talking about the disaster, sending his condolences. Also talking about the amount of aid that the U.S. is sending to those around the world.
And now, let's go ahead and listen in to President Bush.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.
Laura and I, and the American people, are shocked and we are saddened by the terrible loss of life from the recent earthquake and the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.
Our prayers go out to the people who've lost so much to this series of disasters.
Our hearts are also with the Americans who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Our embassies are working with host governments to locate American citizens who are still missing and to assist those who have been injured or displaced.
This morning I spoke with the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia; expressed my condolences and our country's condolences. I told them of our support. I praised their steadfast leadership during these difficult times.
We're grateful to the American and international organizations that are working courageously to save lives and to provide assistance. And I assure those leaders that this is just only the beginning of our help.
We are committed to helping the affected countries in the difficult weeks and months that lie ahead.
We pledged an initial $35 million in relief assistance. We have deployed disaster experts to the region.
All leaders expressed their appreciation for the hard work of our ambassadors and their embassy staffs to help the countries in need.
BUSH: As well, we're dispatching a Marine expeditionary unit, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and the maritime preposition squadron from Guam to the area to help with relief efforts.
Secretary Powell is working hard. He has spoken with his counterparts in Japan, India, Australia, as well as other nations, who are helping with the response, in order to begin building an international coalition for immediate humanitarian relief and long- term recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Based on these discussions, we've established a regional core group with India, Japan and Australia to help coordinate relief efforts. I'm confident more nations will join this core group in short order.
Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman will lead a U.S. task force to work with these partners to help coordinate interagency response in our own government and to encourage other nations to participate in the relief efforts.
These past few days have brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension.
The United States will continue to stand with the affected governments as they care for the victims. We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their communities. And together the world will cope with their loss. We will prevail over this destruction.
Let me answer some questions.
QUESTION: Mr. President, more than 50 people died yesterday alone in the Sunni Triangle area.
QUESTION: And with the Sunnis backing out of the elections, how concerned are you that the world and the Iraqis will view this election as credible?
BUSH: Well, you said "with the Sunnis backing out" -- you mean a Sunni party has backed out.
I talked to President Yawer yesterday, who happens to be a Sunni, who, on the one hand, expressed concern about the security situation in Mosul, on the other hand, reminded me that most people in Iraq, Sunni or Shia, want to vote.
And so, the task at hand is to provide as much security as possible for the election officials, as well as for the people inside cities like Mosul, to encourage them to express their will.
Now, Osama bin Laden issued a statement, as you know, which made the stakes of this pretty clear to me.
His vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy. His vision of the world is where people kill innocent lives in order to affect their behavior and affect their way of living. His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience.
And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of by far the vast majority of Iraqis and leaders like Prime Minister Allawi and President Yawer, whose vision includes the freedom of expression, the freedom of the right to vote.
And so, the stakes are clear in this upcoming election. It's the difference between the ability for individuals to express themselves and the willingness of an individual to try to impose his dark vision on the world, on the people of Iraq and elsewhere.
It's very important that these elections proceed.
BUSH: And we just got off a conference call with our acting -- not the acting -- the ambassador -- Ambassador Negroponte's not in Baghdad, but Ambassador Jeffries (ph), his number two man, as well as General Casey, talking about how best to provide the security necessary for people to feel comfortable in voting.
QUESTION: Mr. President, were you offended by the suggestion that rich nations have been stingy in the aid over the tsunami? Is this a sign of another rift with the U.N.?
BUSH: Well, I felt like the person who made that statement was very misguided and ill-informed.
Take, for example, in the year 2004, our government provided $2.4 billion in food, in cash, in humanitarian relief to cover the disasters for last year. That's $2.4 billion. That's 40 percent of all the relief aid given in the world last year was provided by the United States government.
We're a very generous, kind-hearted nation, and, you know, what you're beginning to see is a typical response from America.
First of all, we provide immediate cash relief to the tune of about $35 million. And then there will be an assessment of the damage so that the next tranche of relief will be spent wisely. That's what's happening now.
Just got off the phone with the president of Sri Lanka. She asked for help to assess the damage. In other words, not only did they want immediate help, but they wanted help to assess damage so that we can better direct resources.
And so our government is fully prepared to continue to provide assistance and help.
BUSH: It takes money, by the way, to move an expeditionary force into the region. We're diverting assets, which is part of our overall aid package. We'll continue to provide assets.
Plus the American people will be very generous themselves. I mean, the $2.4 billion was public money, of course provided by the taxpayers. But there is also a lot of individual giving in America. In this case, I think it's very important for Americans who want to give to provide cash to organizations that will be able to focus resources and assets to meet specific needs.
In other words, a lot of times Americans, in their desire to help, will send blankets or clothes. That may be necessary, but to me it makes more sense to send cash to organizations that can then use that cash to make sure we match resources with specific needs on the ground. There are many NGOs now involved that understand what is specifically needed to meet the needs of these countries.
This has been a terrible disaster. I mean, it's just beyond our comprehension to think about how many lives have been lost.
I know that our fellow citizens are particularly troubled to learn that many of the deaths were young children. And we grieve for their families, their moms and dads who are just, you know, heartsick during these times.
QUESTION: Schroeder this morning said that the Paris Club nations should put a moratorium on the debt of Somalia and Indonesia. Is that something that people think that the U.S. and other Paris Club nations should do, put a moratorium on these debts?
BUSH: Well, we'll look at all requests.
Right now, we're assessing the short-term needs. There are two issues that are involved obviously in these disasters: one, what can we do immediately to help; and then what needs to happen in the long term to help these countries rebuild.
And we're still in the stage of immediate help. But slowly but surely, the size of the problem will become known, particularly when it comes to rebuilding infrastructure and community to help these affected parts of the world get back up on their feet.
QUESTION: Mr. President, are you that the U.S. West Coast residents, Hawaiian residents, Alaska residents are well enough protected with early warning systems for possible tsunamis affecting this country in coastal waters?
BUSH: I appreciate that question. It's a -- I think part of the long-term strategy in how to deal with a natural disaster is to make sure we, the world, has a proper tsunami warning system.
As a matter of fact, the president of Sri Lanka also mentioned that to me. She said that one of the things that she and the prime minister of India discussed -- I'm not sure if they discussed it, but they're both thinking the same way, let me put it to you that way -- is the development of a proper warning system.
And I think it's going to be very important.
I can't answer your question specifically -- do we have enough of a warning system for the West Coast? I am going to -- I am now asking that to our agencies and government to let us know. I mean, that's a very legitimate question.
Clearly, there wasn't a proper warning system in place for that part of the world. And it seems like to me it makes sense for the world to come together to develop a warning system that will help all nations.
QUESTION: Being that as we have, does it concern you that we may not have that mechanism in place or is this something we can use through our civil defense air raid siren system?
BUSH: Yes, I just have to look into it. That's a very legitimate question.
I presume that we are in pretty good shape. I think that our location in the world is such that we may be less vulnerable than other parts. But I am not a geologist, as you know. But I think it's a very legitimate question.
I so far have focused on the international approach toward tsunami warning systems, and it seems like to me it makes sense for governments to come together and figure out how best to provide a warning system that will help all nations be prepared for such a disaster.
BUSH: Obviously, such a warning system was not in place.
QUESTION: There continues to be criticism of the speed with which American troops are being armed in Iraq.
BUSH: That the Iraqi troops are being armed?
QUESTION: No, the U.S. troops.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the pace with which the U.S. troops are being armed in Iraq?
BUSH: Are you talking about the armored vehicle issue, for example?
QUESTION: That and others.
BUSH: Well, I have looked at the statistics on that and we have stepped up the production of armored Humvees significantly.
And the other issue is the rearmament of vehicles that are now in-theater, vehicles that require a different armament structure (ph) than that which they initially were manufactured with. And I am told that those vehicles will be armed up by midsummer of 2005.
And what I know is that the Defense Department is working expeditiously with private contractors and with our military to get these vehicles armed up. Well, listen, thank you all for coming by.
I'm sorry to disrupt your day, but I felt like it was important to talk about what is going to be one of the major natural disasters in world history. And it's important for the world to know that our government is focused and will continue to respond to help those who suffer.
Thank you.
KAGAN: We've been listening in to President Bush. He is in Crawford, Texas, where he is on holiday vacation. Coming out, making his first appearance -- let's see. What else does he have to say? All right. Thank you.
President Bush making his first appearance since the disaster of the tsunamis hitting nations all around the world. He says today he has spoken to many world leaders about coming to the aid of those who have lost loved ones. Also to the countries, he says there's military resources from the U.S. being allocated, money as well. And to those that have called the U.S.
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Aired December 29, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CO-ANCHOR: Let's take it to Atlanta.
HEIDI COLLINS, CO-ANCHOR: In the meantime, we have Daryn Kagan standing by in Atlanta to take things from here on this difficult day with many more difficult days to come -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: Yes. And with that it says all the work to come. We're going to here from President Bush, actually see him, not just hear him.
You guys have a good day in New York City. We will get started by taking a look at what's happening now in the news.
The tsunami death toll now tops 80,000. No signs of that number leveling off. About half of the bodies have been found in Indonesia. Crews are now just getting to remote areas three and half days after a nearby earthquake triggered the tsunami.
There is a new fear for tsunami survivors. Health experts warn the number of dead could double from disease. To prevent that, hundreds of bodies are being dumped into massive graves, and aid workers are rushing to get clean water to survivors.
Insurgents strike with a Baghdad booby-trap. Twenty-Eight people including Iraqi police were killed in an explosion last night. Iraqi officers responded to a call that a gunman was firing from a house. But when police entered the building it blew up.
And the accused deer hunter killer is back in court this hour. A judge will decide if there's enough evidence to send Chai Vang to trial. Police in Wisconsin say that he killed six hunters and wounded two others. Vang allegedly started shooting after a trespassing dispute.
The tsunami tragedy deepens by the hour. Here now are some of the latest figures we have at CNN. CNN has just confirmed more than 80,000 people are dead in 11 countries, as many as one-third of the victims may be children.
Reporting from Banda Aceh Indonesia, CNN's Mike Chinoy says the provincial capitol has been completely devastated. And the global relief effort rises to meet a monumental challenge. The U.S., Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia have pledged so far more than $80 million.
We have seen many terrifying pictures of the tsunami hitting Thailand but almost none from Indonesia. That's because it is much closer to the epicenter of the earthquake that resulted in the tsunami.
Sumatra Island was hit with 60-foot wall of water. The death toll there also staggering. Bulldozers plowing open, gaping pits for mass burials for the dead. Hospitals struggling to help the living. But most the scenes are almost equally grim.
Atika Shubert has a report from the devastated Indonesian city of Banda Aceh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): These are the lucky ones. Udah is 8 years old. He was playing outside his house when a tsunami wave swallowed him whole. He does not remember how he got to this hospital. The only people he speaks to are Sudiati and Mardiana, two sisters swept by the tsunami waves. They have lost their children and 13 members of their family.
"The water was black," Sudiati tells us. "I swallowed so much water as it carried me out of the village turning me over and over. I landed on the roof of the mosque. I reached out and held on to a piece of wood with all my strength. That's what saved me."
They found Udah weeping near the hospital morgue. "We tried to help him and get a doctor to look at his eye," Mardiana says. "His parents, his whole family are gone." In the midst of this devastation they have become a family.
(on camera): We came to this hospital to talk to victims like Udah, but within minutes we were surrounded by other victims, people looking for their missing family members, all with their own horrific stories; every one of them asking why the world has not responded faster to this horrific disaster in Aceh.
(voice-over): Everyone in this hospital has lost at least one family member. They tell stories of entire villages wiped out, bodies as far as they can see. This man cries to us, "Please tell the world. Where is America? Please help to round up the bodies. There is no one left to save. Just help us bury the dead."
This hospital has virtually no doctors or staff, either killed or searching for their own missing families. This Malaysian volunteer was the first doctor we saw, he has covered major earthquakes before. This he says is the worst he's seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have got no water. Sanitation is zero. The commodes are overflowing. There is no access to clean water right now. People are sleeping on the streets. There's no food. Most of the people over here, they have not eaten in about three days.
SCHUBERT: Mercy Malaysia was the first international aid agency in Aceh, more help is needed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anyone expected anything like this. No one expected it, it happened so fast.
SCHUBERT: Until more help arrives, Mardiana, Sudiati and Udah are doing the best they can, if only to comfort each other.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And just as in Atika's piece there, perhaps the most haunting images from the tsunami disaster are of children. Lifeless bodies of countless children lining makeshift morgues across several hard-hit countries. The woman in charge of UNICEF, the U.N. agency devoted to children, explains the child fatalities in this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL BELLAMY, EXEC. DIREC., UNICEF: One mention of the impact on children, because I think there's been some mention of the fact that perhaps up to a third of the casualties could be children. That's really based very much on the fact that the percentage of the population in most of these countries is young.
Virtually no country has a population with less than a third of its population 18 years and below. Some countries, up to 50 percent of the population is young. So, it's really based on that.
Also, kids are the least able to run, the least able to hold on. They can run, but the least able to withstand the flooding or holding on. So that's one of the reasons children have particularly been affected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And so people around the world are adding to the aid picture by donating to groups such as UNICEF.
Now, one of the most gripping pieces of video of the tsunami washing ashore. Take a look.
This home video was shot by a tourist in Phuket, Thailand as people were screaming, the man raced outside, captured the first waves of the tsunami crashing into the beach-front resort. On the lower left side of your television, you might see an elderly couple trapped by the raging waters. A crashing wave swept them away. Hundreds of tourists from that area are still missing.
And this video comes to us from Banda Aceh, the Indonesian city that was virtually washed away. Here a home video capturing the horror in both images and sound, as floodwaters sweep away homes and lives. Today, one U.N. official says the death toll in just this area alone, in the Aceh province, could reach 80,000 people.
This of course, is the peak season for the Thai culture resorts and an estimated two-thirds of the tsunami victims in that area are tourists.
Aneesh Raman is the Thai province of Phang Nga with an update on the situation there -- Aneesh. ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you. As you say we are in the southern coastal proof Vince of Phang Nga. In the past few hours, the latest death toll here alone now more than 1,200 presumed dead. It is likely that number will rise. Reports are that it could even double or triple as we go forward.
Bodies are still being pulled from what is left of this beachfront area. While this is the furthest from the epicenters, islands of Phuket and Phi Phi lie further to the west, the damage is severe. This was a lowland area without much infrastructure to combat the force of the waves as they came in.
Driving around today, we saw cars. We saw buses. We even saw 100-foot steel police ship, some mile inland. It gives you a sense of how strong these waves were and the kinds of debris they carried with them. Bodies today, about four to six pulled out. Yesterday, Daryn, we are told you couldn't stand where we are. The stench of the corpses was just that strong. But the situation at least here is starting to stabilize.
And so rescue efforts are trying to move further north from where we are to hotels, such as Sofitel and other marquee buildings that have all but collapsed. We tried to visit some of them. You can only get so far because officials fear people might still be trapped or that the buildings could collapse further.
We have thousands of people, Daryn, still missing. And as we now enter the finalized, the third day of rescue and relief efforts, the hope of finding them alive is dwindling fast. Today, Daryn, was the first day of these efforts that no survivor was found.
KAGAN: Aneesh, let me ask you about these two different groups of people that need to be served, the tourists and the locals. Is there any kind of controversy developing about where the resources are being sent?
RAMAN: Well, I think so far not really. The majority of the people affected here in Thailand were tourists or were the local community who worked within the tourism industry. These were all coastal areas, and the magnitude of the waves hit hard on those resort beaches.
So, the Thai government really doing that dual challenge. At one level, helping the tourists who are injured, who are in a foreign land, completely dealing with untold horrors, in terms of the psychological impact and desperately want to get home.
At the same level, the Thai government is very aware that the locals here have to rebuild their lives. The ones that were affected, as we say, worked in the industry. They had shops on this island. This is where they made their money. For three months of work they funded themselves for the entire year. Now they have nowhere to go. They have no money to live on and nowhere to call home. And so the Thai government is aware they have to relocate them and try and help them start their lives over.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman in Phang Nga in Thailand, thank you for that.
Well, the ocean's strange activity on a beautiful day drew lots of curious onlookers to the shore. We're going to hear one eyewitness in Sri Lanka tell what it was like when that amazement turned to deadly fear.
Plus, lots of people are donating to relief organizations to help out tsunami survivors. Others though, are organizing relief efforts on a smaller, more personal scale.
And later, a look at a tsunami warning system; it's in place in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Could a similar system have helped Southeast Asia last Sunday?
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KAGAN: Different type of water story, this one in Southern California. A powerful storm-dumping heavy rains. Floodwaters washing over much of Los Angeles, San Diego and the threat of more rain is looming overhead. So, too are fears of mudslides and rockslides across the area.
Rob Marciano is doing weather for us. It's always sunny in Southern California for the Rose Parade.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, you are almost right about that.
KAGAN: Well, I grew up there.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: But I thought it never rained in southern California.
KAGAN: No. Well, clearly it does.
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KAGAN: Well, for four day now, we have been following the tsunami and also trying to look beyond the staggering numbers of the disaster. Trying to reveal the very human element of the tragedy. Nothing seems to capture that horror more than those who've been touched by it.
One e-mail sent to us here at CNN -- we're just going to go to the website and read from there.
One woman wrote, "My brother works at a hotel on a beach. When the tsunami hit he was near the swimming pool. When he saw a 40-foot wave coming toward him, he pulled four kids out of the pool and ran towards the hotel. Within 10 seconds, a strong wave smacked his back. He was able to get to safety, but a woman died in his arms as he was trying to rescue her." And that coming in from Sri Lanka. We have two things working on cnn.com. Of course, you can go there 24 hours a day and get the latest on the disaster, but also post your own story. And then there is a fascinating and heart-wrenching area to look at as well. People are making personal appeals for missing friends, missing family members. If you need to do the same thing, or if you're trying to help somebody find somebody, just go to cnn.com/quake.
And we will bring you more stories of the missing in our continuing coverage of the tsunami disaster.
Also, we will bring you President Bush. He is at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. In the last hour, we heard the audio of what he had to say. The president, these are the first remarks that he has made. There was a paper statement he released earlier, but coming out talking about the tsunami disaster.
The audio released in the last hour. Coming now, we're going to see the videotape of the same comments the president made talking about the disaster, sending his condolences. Also talking about the amount of aid that the U.S. is sending to those around the world.
And now, let's go ahead and listen in to President Bush.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.
Laura and I, and the American people, are shocked and we are saddened by the terrible loss of life from the recent earthquake and the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.
Our prayers go out to the people who've lost so much to this series of disasters.
Our hearts are also with the Americans who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Our embassies are working with host governments to locate American citizens who are still missing and to assist those who have been injured or displaced.
This morning I spoke with the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia; expressed my condolences and our country's condolences. I told them of our support. I praised their steadfast leadership during these difficult times.
We're grateful to the American and international organizations that are working courageously to save lives and to provide assistance. And I assure those leaders that this is just only the beginning of our help.
We are committed to helping the affected countries in the difficult weeks and months that lie ahead.
We pledged an initial $35 million in relief assistance. We have deployed disaster experts to the region.
All leaders expressed their appreciation for the hard work of our ambassadors and their embassy staffs to help the countries in need.
BUSH: As well, we're dispatching a Marine expeditionary unit, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and the maritime preposition squadron from Guam to the area to help with relief efforts.
Secretary Powell is working hard. He has spoken with his counterparts in Japan, India, Australia, as well as other nations, who are helping with the response, in order to begin building an international coalition for immediate humanitarian relief and long- term recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Based on these discussions, we've established a regional core group with India, Japan and Australia to help coordinate relief efforts. I'm confident more nations will join this core group in short order.
Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman will lead a U.S. task force to work with these partners to help coordinate interagency response in our own government and to encourage other nations to participate in the relief efforts.
These past few days have brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension.
The United States will continue to stand with the affected governments as they care for the victims. We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their communities. And together the world will cope with their loss. We will prevail over this destruction.
Let me answer some questions.
QUESTION: Mr. President, more than 50 people died yesterday alone in the Sunni Triangle area.
QUESTION: And with the Sunnis backing out of the elections, how concerned are you that the world and the Iraqis will view this election as credible?
BUSH: Well, you said "with the Sunnis backing out" -- you mean a Sunni party has backed out.
I talked to President Yawer yesterday, who happens to be a Sunni, who, on the one hand, expressed concern about the security situation in Mosul, on the other hand, reminded me that most people in Iraq, Sunni or Shia, want to vote.
And so, the task at hand is to provide as much security as possible for the election officials, as well as for the people inside cities like Mosul, to encourage them to express their will.
Now, Osama bin Laden issued a statement, as you know, which made the stakes of this pretty clear to me.
His vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy. His vision of the world is where people kill innocent lives in order to affect their behavior and affect their way of living. His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience.
And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of by far the vast majority of Iraqis and leaders like Prime Minister Allawi and President Yawer, whose vision includes the freedom of expression, the freedom of the right to vote.
And so, the stakes are clear in this upcoming election. It's the difference between the ability for individuals to express themselves and the willingness of an individual to try to impose his dark vision on the world, on the people of Iraq and elsewhere.
It's very important that these elections proceed.
BUSH: And we just got off a conference call with our acting -- not the acting -- the ambassador -- Ambassador Negroponte's not in Baghdad, but Ambassador Jeffries (ph), his number two man, as well as General Casey, talking about how best to provide the security necessary for people to feel comfortable in voting.
QUESTION: Mr. President, were you offended by the suggestion that rich nations have been stingy in the aid over the tsunami? Is this a sign of another rift with the U.N.?
BUSH: Well, I felt like the person who made that statement was very misguided and ill-informed.
Take, for example, in the year 2004, our government provided $2.4 billion in food, in cash, in humanitarian relief to cover the disasters for last year. That's $2.4 billion. That's 40 percent of all the relief aid given in the world last year was provided by the United States government.
We're a very generous, kind-hearted nation, and, you know, what you're beginning to see is a typical response from America.
First of all, we provide immediate cash relief to the tune of about $35 million. And then there will be an assessment of the damage so that the next tranche of relief will be spent wisely. That's what's happening now.
Just got off the phone with the president of Sri Lanka. She asked for help to assess the damage. In other words, not only did they want immediate help, but they wanted help to assess damage so that we can better direct resources.
And so our government is fully prepared to continue to provide assistance and help.
BUSH: It takes money, by the way, to move an expeditionary force into the region. We're diverting assets, which is part of our overall aid package. We'll continue to provide assets.
Plus the American people will be very generous themselves. I mean, the $2.4 billion was public money, of course provided by the taxpayers. But there is also a lot of individual giving in America. In this case, I think it's very important for Americans who want to give to provide cash to organizations that will be able to focus resources and assets to meet specific needs.
In other words, a lot of times Americans, in their desire to help, will send blankets or clothes. That may be necessary, but to me it makes more sense to send cash to organizations that can then use that cash to make sure we match resources with specific needs on the ground. There are many NGOs now involved that understand what is specifically needed to meet the needs of these countries.
This has been a terrible disaster. I mean, it's just beyond our comprehension to think about how many lives have been lost.
I know that our fellow citizens are particularly troubled to learn that many of the deaths were young children. And we grieve for their families, their moms and dads who are just, you know, heartsick during these times.
QUESTION: Schroeder this morning said that the Paris Club nations should put a moratorium on the debt of Somalia and Indonesia. Is that something that people think that the U.S. and other Paris Club nations should do, put a moratorium on these debts?
BUSH: Well, we'll look at all requests.
Right now, we're assessing the short-term needs. There are two issues that are involved obviously in these disasters: one, what can we do immediately to help; and then what needs to happen in the long term to help these countries rebuild.
And we're still in the stage of immediate help. But slowly but surely, the size of the problem will become known, particularly when it comes to rebuilding infrastructure and community to help these affected parts of the world get back up on their feet.
QUESTION: Mr. President, are you that the U.S. West Coast residents, Hawaiian residents, Alaska residents are well enough protected with early warning systems for possible tsunamis affecting this country in coastal waters?
BUSH: I appreciate that question. It's a -- I think part of the long-term strategy in how to deal with a natural disaster is to make sure we, the world, has a proper tsunami warning system.
As a matter of fact, the president of Sri Lanka also mentioned that to me. She said that one of the things that she and the prime minister of India discussed -- I'm not sure if they discussed it, but they're both thinking the same way, let me put it to you that way -- is the development of a proper warning system.
And I think it's going to be very important.
I can't answer your question specifically -- do we have enough of a warning system for the West Coast? I am going to -- I am now asking that to our agencies and government to let us know. I mean, that's a very legitimate question.
Clearly, there wasn't a proper warning system in place for that part of the world. And it seems like to me it makes sense for the world to come together to develop a warning system that will help all nations.
QUESTION: Being that as we have, does it concern you that we may not have that mechanism in place or is this something we can use through our civil defense air raid siren system?
BUSH: Yes, I just have to look into it. That's a very legitimate question.
I presume that we are in pretty good shape. I think that our location in the world is such that we may be less vulnerable than other parts. But I am not a geologist, as you know. But I think it's a very legitimate question.
I so far have focused on the international approach toward tsunami warning systems, and it seems like to me it makes sense for governments to come together and figure out how best to provide a warning system that will help all nations be prepared for such a disaster.
BUSH: Obviously, such a warning system was not in place.
QUESTION: There continues to be criticism of the speed with which American troops are being armed in Iraq.
BUSH: That the Iraqi troops are being armed?
QUESTION: No, the U.S. troops.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the pace with which the U.S. troops are being armed in Iraq?
BUSH: Are you talking about the armored vehicle issue, for example?
QUESTION: That and others.
BUSH: Well, I have looked at the statistics on that and we have stepped up the production of armored Humvees significantly.
And the other issue is the rearmament of vehicles that are now in-theater, vehicles that require a different armament structure (ph) than that which they initially were manufactured with. And I am told that those vehicles will be armed up by midsummer of 2005.
And what I know is that the Defense Department is working expeditiously with private contractors and with our military to get these vehicles armed up. Well, listen, thank you all for coming by.
I'm sorry to disrupt your day, but I felt like it was important to talk about what is going to be one of the major natural disasters in world history. And it's important for the world to know that our government is focused and will continue to respond to help those who suffer.
Thank you.
KAGAN: We've been listening in to President Bush. He is in Crawford, Texas, where he is on holiday vacation. Coming out, making his first appearance -- let's see. What else does he have to say? All right. Thank you.
President Bush making his first appearance since the disaster of the tsunamis hitting nations all around the world. He says today he has spoken to many world leaders about coming to the aid of those who have lost loved ones. Also to the countries, he says there's military resources from the U.S. being allocated, money as well. And to those that have called the U.S.
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