WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday called on every American who could to contribute to organizations aiding victims of the southern Asian earthquake and tsunami, and he named his father and former President Clinton to lead a nationwide fundraising drive.
"I've asked the former presidents to solicit contributions both large and small," Bush said in a brief announcement at the White House, where flags were flying at half-staff in memory of the estimated 150,000 people killed in the Dec. 26 disaster.
"We are here to ask our fellow citizens to join in a broad humanitarian relief effort," Bush said, as his father, former President George H. W. Bush, and Clinton stood behind him. He added: "I ask every American to contribute as they are able to do so."
The fundraising drive will appeal to corporations and foundations as well as individuals.
Relief workers continued to work their way toward the most remote villages, and a United Nations official said fatalities could grow "exponentially" in Sumatra, the Indonesian island where most of the victims are reported to have died. Indonesian officials Monday increased the official death toll in their country to more than 94,000.
"What will be the final toll, we will never know, but we may be talking tens of thousands of further deaths in this area," U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said. He said disease would add to the deaths.
Relief supplies have reached hubs such as Bangkok, the Thai capital; the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo; and Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, and are flowing into the most severely hit areas, said James Kunder, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development. With as many as 5 million people across southern Asia believed to be without homes or food, the growing relief efforts encountered new challenges.
U.S. military personnel flying missions from warships and small airports such as that in Banda Aceh in Sumatra said deliveries of water and food to parts of the island were hampered by a lack of accurate maps: The quake and tsunami had rearranged the topography of the west coast, altering landmarks.
"The pilots basically are flying down the coast looking for clusters of people, because they have nothing else to go on," Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Wilcox said.
In some parts of Indonesia's Aceh province, supplies were dropped from the air because washed-out roads and bridges made land access impossible, Kunder said.
