COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Relief workers assisting survivors of the Asian tidal waves warn of greater tragedy ahead if wide scale disease breaks out.
The threat of typhoid, malaria, cholera, dysentery and waterborne diseases is particularly acute in the worst hit areas of Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. Water supplies are being contaminated by a combination of surging seawater, hot and humid weather, and decomposing bodies.
Jan Egeland, head of emergency relief for the United Nations, called the devastation unprecedented and said the risk of disease still confronts hundreds of thousands of people injured and made homeless by Sunday's catastrophic events.
Oxfam Hong Kong director Chong Chan Yau told CNN Tuesday that survivors needed clean water, food, medicine, shelter and sanitation. He said children were the most vulnerable group and warned that the next few months represented a crucial period for long-term survival.
Sri Lankan officials said the next 36 hours were critical for survivors.
Other relief agencies are warning of a "second wave" of fatalities over the next week from injuries and disease. Rescue agencies are flying in water purification equipment and stocks of bottled water to all the affected areas.
