5 000 000 displaced by tsunami
2004-12-30 09:07
Hong Kong - Up to five million people have been displaced by the devastating tsunamis that pummelled large tracts of Asia over the weekend, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
"We estimate that up to five million people have been displaced and are at risk across the region," Harsaran Pandey, spokesperson for the WHO in South Asia, said.
The global health body said between one and three million of those affected were in Indonesia, with another one million in Sri Lanka. The rest were spread between India, the Maldives and other nations.
The estimate was given five days after an earthquake of terrifying proportions sent towers of water crashing into 11 countries across Asia and Africa.
More than 80 000 people are confirmed dead and the toll is expected to rise sharply with disease threatening the lives of survivors.
- AFP