First Wave of International Aid Workers Starting to Reach Tsunami Survivors

Foreign relief workers begin assisting locals in clean up procedures after the tsunami.
Dec 29, 2004 09:30 PM EST

Nations all over the world have provided trained military and civilian medical personnel to comb the area for potential survivors and to provide necessary aid to surviving locals.

This morning, the first of the signs of foreign aid promised by the International community are now starting to appear. Medical teams from the France to Australia, Indonesia to India have begun the arduous tasks of evacuating tourists, caring for wounded, burying the dead, providing shelter for the displaced, and looking for survivors. Additional aid workers from Hong Kong and Taiwan have also arrived.

According to Reuters, the island nation of Sri Lanka has pressed into service its military and citizenry into a collective effort to restore the nation after the devastation wrought by the tsunami last Sunday.

So far, according to Reuters, Indonesian soldiers discovered additional bodies in the hills and the surrounding countryside in Indonesia. Previously, efforts to reach into these areas were severely hampered by the destruction of passable roads.

As of late, the first wave of aid workers continue to face mounting difficulties in aiding tens and thousands of survivors in tsunami-devastated areas due to the damage to major roadwork in areas such as Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka. The estimated number of people dead has risen to 76,000.