*EPF206 12/28/2004
U.S. Relief Teams, Aid Heading to South and Southeast Asia
(Powell says United States will do all it can to assist with relief, recovery) (740)

By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File White House Correspondent

Washington -- The United States is providing approximately $15 million dollars in aid as an initial response to the countries affected by the massive December 26 earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

The earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 9.0, caused tsunamis believed to have killed over 22,000 in 10 countries.

Speaking at the State Department December 27, Secretary of State Colin Powell described the disaster as ����an international tragedy���� and said the United States will ����do everything we can to assist the nations that have been affected in dealing with this tragedy.����

In Crawford, Texas, White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy said President Bush had been briefed earlier in the day on the situation in Asia and had sent letters of condolence to the leaders of Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Maldives and Malaysia.

����The United States, at the president's direction, will be a leading partner in one of the most significant relief, rescue and recovery challenges that the world has ever known,���� Duffy said.

Secretary Powell said the U.S. embassies in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India and Indonesia have already provided $400,000 in immediate assistance, and the Bush administration is in contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about providing $4 million of the ICRC����s $6.6 million appeal.

����We are also examining what other assets might be needed, and we'll do everything we can to help,���� Powell said.

Speaking with Powell at the State Department, Ed Fox, the assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said a 21-member disaster assistance response team (DART) is being dispatched to the region to help with sanitation, health and other relief supply efforts, as well as to assess where relief aid is most needed.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said the DART team would be based in Thailand, but two of the members would be in Sri Lanka.

����We have one senior regional adviser already in Bangkok. A second regional adviser is -- will arrive in New Delhi today [December 27] and will travel to Colombo tomorrow. And then the additional ones are leaving the -- the additional 19 are leaving the U.S. today,���� he said.

USAID����s Fox said, ����The first important thing will be to help in the removal of debris and disaster and to help the people, not only those tragically killed, but the million or more who are also going to be displaced and will need shelter and food and clothing.����

Citing the $400,000 in aid from the U.S. embassies and the U.S. commitment to the ICRC, Fox said, ����[W]e anticipate that our initial reaction to this is going to be in the neighborhood of $15 million. That may increase.����

A U.S. defense official also confirmed that the U.S. Navy has deployed three P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft from the Kadena air base in Japan to survey operations in the Utaphao region of Thailand.

The official said the aircraft is ����an invaluable asset for search and rescue operations���� since it can linger in an area for long periods of time and rapidly provide information to regional Rescue Coordination Centers.

The U.S. Navy also is assessing available options to deliver further assistance, he said.

Powell said the Bush administration is also planning for longer-term aid to the region.

����Some 20-plus thousand lives have been lost in a few moments, but the lingering effects will be there for years. The damage that was caused, the rebuilding of schools and other facilities will take time,���� he said.

The secretary also confirmed that eight Americans had died in the tragedy and that several hundred remain unaccounted for at the present time.�� He directed U.S. family members seeking information on their loved ones to call the State Department����s hot line number at 1-888-407- 4747 or to visit http://www.state.gov/ to get information about each of the countries involved.

State����s Ereli said Americans who wish to contribute donations to the relief efforts can find a list of humanitarian organizations accepting cash donations at http://www.usaid.gov/.

����As you can imagine, the needs -- the damage is enormous, the needs are enormous, and the capacities are very limited,���� Ereli said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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