Tsunami: Laura's diary - Day 1

Newsround's Laura is out in Sri Lanka reporting on the devastation caused by the tsunami.

"Since arriving in Sri Lanka two days ago we've travelled down the coast from the capital Colombo to Galle, which is one of the worst hit areas.

Everywhere we've been, it's the same story - whole families and communities have been devastated by the huge tsunami just over a week ago.

Frightening

I've seen houses which have been reduced to rubble, not just ones on the beach but up to a mile inland as well.

Children I've been speaking to say it was the most frightening thing they've ever seen.

One 13-year-old girl called Sharnika said that she and her brother saw the waves coming. Although they didn't know what it was, they knew they should run away as fast as they could.

They only managed to survive by climbing up a tree.

Houses in ruins

This afternoon we travelled through a village near Galle. The road there had only just opened and we were among the first people to arrive.

About 200 or 300 people used to live in the village but today there was no-one there.

A huge bus had been thrown across a railway line, houses were in ruins and children's books and clothes were all over the floor.

No one knows what happened to the people who used to live there.

Aid centres

Everyone's focus now is moving to looking after those people who've survived. People who've lost everything desperately need food, medicine, shelter and clean water.

If they don't get these, charities say that more people could die from disease than from the tsunami.

Lots of money has been donated to help the people affected by the tsunami. Tomorrow I'll be going to an aid centre to see where the money is going." <