Sumatra before the tidal waves struck, left, and after

Physical Effects

Reuters

Satellite images of northern Sumatra before the tidal waves struck, left, and after, right, show the extent of the devastation.




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Worldwide donations to aid those battered by the huge waves that slammed Asian and African nations approached $1 billion, and a steady stream of foreign military aircraft touched down in the epicenter of the disaster, the Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

But supplies were bottlenecking and officials acknowledged distribution networks were not in place to deliver desperately needed supplies to the worst-hit areas.

"We can bring in the aid, food, but we need manpower to distribute them,'' said Andi Mallarengen, spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

President Bush, his administration stung by criticism that its aid pledges were small and slow to materialize, raised the U.S. promise of help from $35 million to $350 million.

 2004 The Associated Press.