Jumatatu Posted January 1, 2005 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- The number of Somalis killed by deadly tidal waves that battered the country's shores has risen to more than 200 people, an official said Friday. Most of the victims are from the Indian Ocean coastline of the semiautonomous region of Puntland, including the northeastern Hafun island that was hardest hit by the violent waves at the weekend, said Somali presidential spokesman Yusuf Mohamed Ismail. "According to the information we received by the end of Thursday, more than 200 people are confirmed dead," Yusuf told The Associated Press. "This is a total number of bodies that have been recovered and buried ... Many are still missing." On Wednesday, the United Nations said the quake-induced tidal waves killed at least 114 Somalis. The U.N. was unable to immediately verify the latest Somali government figures because its officials are unable to visit many parts of Somalia that are considered too dangerous, said El-Balla Hagona, the U.N.'s acting humanitarian coordinator for the Horn of Africa nation. The tsunamis hit Somalia's shores Sunday, triggered by the undersea quake centered off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, about 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) across the Indian Ocean. Tens of thousands of people were killed in Asia. An aerial survey of parts of the Somali coastline on Thursday showed that about 30 percent of the structures in Hafun were destroyed by the tidal waves, Hagona said. "Hafun -- that has a population of between 5,000 and 7,000 people -- as well as the hinterland adjacent to that is still submerged, still under water," Hagona said. The presence of large numbers of anti-aircraft guns owned by local warlords prevented U.N. officials from flying over parts of the Somali coastline to assess the damage in those areas, officials said. The United Nations is reviewing preliminary estimates that showed that between 30,000 and 50,000 people are affected and in need of immediate relief assistance, said Laura Melo, a U.N. food aid agency spokeswoman. Some 15,000 Somalis have begun receiving assistance from the U.N.'s World Food Program, Melo said. The areas worst-affected by the tidal waves in Somalia were along a 650-kilometer (404-mile) coastline between the coastal town of Garacad and Hafun island in the northeast. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muhammad Posted January 1, 2005 » Xafuun From Space: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
