The sadness just keeps coming...

CNN.com - Tsunami death toll tops 80,000 - Dec 29, 2004

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- The latest death toll from the Asian tsunami has increased to more than 80,000 as relief workers and supplies begin to reach some of the most devastated areas.

That number top 100,000 by the time all bodies are recovered, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Wednesday.

The dramatic rise of the death toll came after officials were finally able to reach remote regions -- like Indonesia's Aceh province, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Maldives.

More than half of the total deaths so far were in Indonesia, the nearest land mass to Sunday's undersea earthquake that triggered the deadly waves and flooding in about a dozen countries, from Thailand to East Africa.

Four days after the quake, Indonesian authorities said they had found mass destruction in Aceh. The capital of Banda Aceh, which was closest to epicenter of the quake, was described as largely destroyed.


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I have been watching this develop for some time now and I am just shocked by the tragedy of it all. I am always humbled by the power of nature and the inability of all of our technology to make us totally safe. I mourn for all of those who have family members or friends in those places affected by this powerful act of nature. My thoughts are with them all.