Relief workers in southern Asia are battling both time and nature in the efforts to aid survivors of last week's devastating tsunami.
Heavy rains that lashed eastern Sri Lanka Tuesday caused flooding and hampered attempts to bring supplies to tens of thousands of people without adequate food or shelter.
In Indonesia, airplanes could not land at a key airstrip on Sumatra island for several hours after a relief flight hit a water buffalo while landing. Helicopters continued flying in aid while workers cleared the runway.
Video from Indonesia's Aceh coast showed desperate men swarming around a U.S. helicopter as a soldier tossed boxes out the door.
The World Health Organization has warned that some five million people in the region face the threat of cholera and other diseases unless they get clean drinking water, medicine and other supplies.
The U.N. agency estimates that more than 500,000 people were injured in last week's catastrophe and need medical treatment. The agency called relief efforts a "race against time."
The overall death toll in the region is nearing 150,000, with more than 94,000 of the fatalities in Indonesia. The number of dead is expected to rise as more bodies are found.
Heavy rains that lashed eastern Sri Lanka Tuesday caused flooding and hampered attempts to bring supplies to tens of thousands of people without adequate food or shelter.
In Indonesia, airplanes could not land at a key airstrip on Sumatra island for several hours after a relief flight hit a water buffalo while landing. Helicopters continued flying in aid while workers cleared the runway.
Video from Indonesia's Aceh coast showed desperate men swarming around a U.S. helicopter as a soldier tossed boxes out the door.
The World Health Organization has warned that some five million people in the region face the threat of cholera and other diseases unless they get clean drinking water, medicine and other supplies.
The U.N. agency estimates that more than 500,000 people were injured in last week's catastrophe and need medical treatment. The agency called relief efforts a "race against time."
The overall death toll in the region is nearing 150,000, with more than 94,000 of the fatalities in Indonesia. The number of dead is expected to rise as more bodies are found.
