Tsunami aid summit opens in Jakarta, Annan calls for more donations

Jakarta - Leaders from 26 tsunami-hit nations, donor countries and international organisations met on Thursday in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to discuss ways to deal with Asia’s disaster, as officials predict the death toll could reach 300,000 if the World nations didn’t take prompt action to prevent diseases spread.

Jakarta summit, held amid tight security, will focus mainly on longer-term aid for the tsunami-hit nations. It will as well endorse a debt relief to help rebuilding the countries that were devastated by the deadly tidal waves, and back building a warning system to prevent similar disaster in the future.

"As we gather here today ... the death tolls around the region keep rising," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the opening session of the summit, which started with a moment of silence for tsunami victims.

Mr. Yudhoyono described tsunami as "the most destructive natural disaster in living memory."

He stressed the need of setting a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean similar to that at the Pacific.

Indonesia, the worst tsunami-hit country, with more than two-thirds of the dead, hopes world leaders will reach an agreement in the one-day summit to establish a regional tsunami warning system.

Aid workers still can’t reach various areas in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra, saying that the tidal waves have completely destroyed the roads and bridges there.

They also said that they fear the overall death toll will rise when they reach out to these parts.

Before Jakarta summit started, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that people in the devastated countries can’t access clean water, which raises the possibility of diarrhoeal diseases spread.

"If basic needs ... are not urgently restored to all populations by the end of this week, WHO fears that outbreaks of infectious disease could result in a similar number of fatalities as occurred due to the direct impact of the tsunami," it said.

Among the summit attendees were Secretary of State Colin Powell, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese Premier Wen Jiaba.

Tokyo is expected to freeze debt payments for the stricken countries, and try to persuade other leaders to do the same, according to Japanese officials.

Also on Thursday, Banda Aceh was hit by fresh tremors, the latest aftershocks since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami waves, forcing thousands of the hungry and homeless people run in panic, fearing similar disaster.

People were seen jumping on motorbikes, crying, fearing more killing tidal waves. -- Al Jazeera News

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