A week after Asian tsunami disaster, rescuers lose hope for survivors

Associated Press

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A Sumatran fisherman was discovered barely alive under his beached boat Sunday - the first survivor found in three days, but with tens of thousands still missing in crushed seaside settlements and in the flotsam washing the shores of the Indian Ocean rescuers turned full attention to getting food and water to the living.

Today, Indonesia increased its death toll from last week's devastating earthquake and tsunamis to 94,081, raising the total number of people reported killed in 11 countries in the Indian Ocean basin to at least 137,321. Aid agencies have said the death toll was expected to hit 150,000.

More than a week after the disaster struck the region, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced plans to work with the country's neighbors to establish an early warning system.

"Indonesia and other neighboring countries plan to set up an early warning to prevent natural disasters, including earthquake and tsunamis," Yudhoyono told reporters. "This would be a kind of pre-emptive measure."

Most of the hardest-hit countries, including Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka had no system in place to warn of the impending disaster as is common in the Pacific Ocean.

Regional leaders were expected to endorse establishing such a system during a donors' conference Jan. 6 in Jakarta, organized through the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.