Britain counts tsunami human cost

By Peter Biles BBC World Affairs Correspondent

There are an estimated 300,000 tsunami victims

Britain is one of the many countries still counting the cost of the earthquake that occurred off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on 26 December.

According to the Metropolitan Police Central Casualty Bureau, a total of 109 Britons have been confirmed as dead, and a further 49 are considered as highly likely to have been involved as victims.

Weekly updates of the figures for British casualties are being published on the Foreign Office website.

In the House of Commons last month, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said that identifying the casualties of the Tsunami was a painstaking and time-consuming process.

"The task of identification is unprecedented in terms of the numbers of the victims, the geographical extent of the tragedy and the many nations involved", he told MP's.

"All told, nearly 300,000 people are estimated to have died. Millions of lives and livelihoods have been shattered".

The British Red Cross Society has set up a Tsunami Support Network, in coordination with the Foreign Office, for anyone affected by the Indian Ocean disaster.

Services disrupted

There is also a helpline, providing emotional support and information for bereaved families and others.

In Thailand, where the majority of British victims died, the Foreign Office says services and facilities in most areas affected by the tsunami are now operating normally.

On the coast of Khao Lak and on Phi Phi island, many houses, shops, hotels and tourist accommodation have been destroyed, although some larger resorts are now open.

There is however, a warning that infrastructure and services remain disrupted.

This is a fund that will make a real difference, both saving lives in the short term and rebuilding communities and livelihoods over at least three years Disasters Emergency Committee

Following the Tsunami Earthquake Appeal by the British-based Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), a total of £300 million pounds has been donated by the public, with a further £40 million going directly to DEC member charities.

"This is a fund that will make a real difference, both saving lives in the short term and rebuilding communities and livelihoods over at least three years," says the DEC.

Nearly four months after the disaster, the relief period is drawing to a close, according to the British charity, Oxfam.

In Indonesia, the number of internally displaced people returning to their former villages, is said to be rapidly increasing.

Oxfam says recovery work is scaling up, and currently reaching more than 110 villages throughout Aceh.

In Sri Lanka, heavy rains this month have reportedly caused flooding in some of the camps in the Trincomalee area, while in Killinochi, people have been moved to higher ground.

Oxfam says that, together with UNICEF, the local authorities have been persuaded to impose minimum water and sanitation standards for all agencies working in the area.