Largest Ever Relief Effort Under Way In South Asia

The number of people killed in Sunday's mammoth earthquake and tsunami has soared above 58,000.

And thousands more are feared dead in the region around a coastal city in Indonesia, where more than 30,000 are already confirmed dead.

In addition, more than 18,000 died in Sri Lanka, and more than 4,400 in India.

Almost one-third of the dead are children. Thousands of people are missing and millions homeless.

Meanwhile, more people may be dying. One survivor in Indonesia said his entire town is underwater and starving families have nothing to eat except for coconuts.

Bulldozers have been called out to dig mass graves. Indonesian officials say they have no choice because most of the dead are unidentified. And health officials warn that disease could double the death toll. In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, thousands of bodies litter the streets and line the front lawns of government offices.

Across a dozen countries, millions of people whose homes were swept away or wrecked by raging walls of water are struggling to find shelter.

Aid groups are struggling to mount what they describe as the largest relief operation the world has ever seen.

The United States plans to add an extra $20 million to its initial Asian earthquake relief package. That would more than double the $15 million package the United States announced Monday, one day after the world's biggest earthquake in 40 years.

The quake, off of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggered killer tsunamis across south Asia and as far away as Africa.

A senior U.S. official told The Associated Press the amount of aid could go even higher as damage assessments pour in. The AP has also learned the Pentagon is preparing a supplemental relief operation. The U.S. official said pre-stocked supplies of shelter, food and water bags are on their way to Indonesia from Dubai.

Medical supplies, food aid and water purification systems were pouring into regions slammed by Sunday's earthquake and tsunami waves.

Mourners there are burying their dead with bare hands. And rescuers are rushing to check isolated pockets of Indonesia for survivors.

The United Nations says it may be history's costliest natural disaster.

The Red Cross fears malaria and cholera could claim even more lives. (Read more about efforts to prevent disease and provide clean water.)

Looting has been reported on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where soldiers and volunteers are combing seaside districts and digging into the rubble of destroyed houses to look for survivors and retrieve the dead.

U.S. Families Grieve

Some grieving U.S. families are making plans to bring their loved ones' bodies back home.

Among the Americans killed was a retired chemistry professor from suburban Columbus, Ohio, and his wife. They were vacationing in their native Sri Lanka to escape the winter cold.

Colleagues at The Ohio State University say the man, Muttaiya Sundaralingam, was well-respected for his work in determining the structure of nucleic acids and proteins.

A woman from California and her daughter also were killed in Sri Lanka. The daughter had taken a two-year leave from her job in Los Angeles to teach in the country.

In Phildelphia, a seminary student from India learned in a phone call that eight of her cousins died in the catastrophe.

U.S. officials said Monday that eight Americans were among the dead. The State Department has since confirmed 12 American deaths -- seven in Sri Lanka and five in Thailand.

Jacksonville, Fla., television station WJXT talked to one resident who was in Madras, India, when the tsunami hit. He said that the water coming sounded like a semi-truck. After the water came ashore, he helped rescue people, including children.

Several families from Illinois are still awaiting word on the fate of their loved ones. One Chicago woman, the wife of a South Asian Lutheran pastor, was killed.

It's not clear if those identified are part of the 12 casualties that the State Department could confirm.

Some celebrities were caught up in the tsunamis. Model Petra Nemcova clung to a tree for eight hours to survive. She suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries.

Interior decorator Nate Berkus survived being swept out to sea when the giant wave hit the roof of his hut in Sri Lanka. However, he said a friend who was washed away at the same time disappeared.

And Khun Poom Jensen, the grandson of the King of Thailand, was jet-skiing at a Thai beach resort when the earthquake-driven waves struck. He was killed.

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was airlifted out of a Sri Lankan hotel, where he'd been stranded. A Sri Lankan air force commander said Kohl was "with a team on holiday" in the country's south. The commander said the former German leader asked officials for help. A helicopter fetched Kohl and six other people.

Could It Happen Here?

A California geologist says that there is a 5 percent chance a tsunami like the one in the Indian Ocean could hit the California coast in the next 30 years.

He laid out scenarios that would give Californians between one and 12 hours' warning.

Asian Families Wait For Word

Overloaded phone lines are making it tough for U.S. immigrants to get news of relatives in affected areas.

Even as many tourists cancel visits to the region, some immigrants are booking trips home to help in search and rescue efforts. A worker at the Indonesian consulate in New York is making plans after learning his sister's home had been destroyed.

One Californian spent much of the weekend trying to reach loved ones in Sri Lanka. He eventually found out his in-laws survived after climbing to the roof of their home. He's had no luck finding other relatives.

In California, local Web sites have been transformed into pipelines for aid efforts and news updates. And in New York, the president of the United Sri Lanka Society said he's been fielding phone calls from people all over the country. Many are asking how to donate food and clothing.

U.S. Active In Relief Effort

The White House says the United States will be a leading partner in one of the biggest disaster relief efforts the world has ever seen.

A State Department spokesman said aid to devastated areas in Asia will be a "line of credit" and probably will keep growing.

He said the $35 million the United States is offering so far will be a credit line that countries can dip into as they need. The official said this is a disaster of unimaginable dimension and the United States is ready to offer more help as needs increase.

The Pentagon says it's setting up a command center in Thailand to help in the relief effort and serve as a staging base for U.S. military and rescue aircraft.

The command center will be operated mainly by Marines of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force.

American experts have been sent to Thailand, Indonesia and other countries, plus the Red Cross is getting an initial infusion of about $4 million to fund relief efforts. Supplies of food, water and shelter are being organized at U.S. facilities in the Philippines and Dubai.

Meanwhile, a U.N. official is backing off remarks that seemed to be critical of the United States and other western countries.

Monday, the official said wealthy nations were being "stingy." He said Tuesday that his remarks were misunderstood and that he wasn't referring to any particular country.

There are also local aid efforts under way. On Tuesday, two Gaffney, S.C., churches loaded 16,000 pounds of donated over-the-counter medication into a truck to be shipped to the tsunami region.

ýWe live in such a self-centered society and this gives us an opportunity to get our eyes off ourselves and help other people, whether they're in our own community or they're on the other side of the world,ý volunteer Lois Freyta said.

ýRight now, there is so much devastation going on around the world to where we have to jump in and do something to help these people who are in need,ý Dr. Larry Manley, of the House of Destiny church said.

Surviving Boy Identified

A man says he has identified the little blond-haired boy who survived Sunday's tsunami as his nephew, Hannes Bergstroem. The man, named Jim, calls it "a miracle, the biggest thing that could happen."

The boy was found along a road. Dozens of parents turned up at a hospital in Phuket, Indonesia, hoping he was theirs. The toddler's picture was put on the hospital Web site, where Jim spotted him.

Jim says five relatives from Goteborg, Sweden, were on vacation in Thailand when the waters struck, including Hannes' father and mother. A Swedish newspaper says the boy's mother and grandmother are still missing.

Train Knocked Off Rails

The victims of the tsunamis may include hundreds of rail passengers in Sri Lanka.

Officials say a train carrying 1,000 people from Colombo to Galle was thrown off its tracks by the huge waves. Most of the cars were turned into twisted metal.

By Tuesday, searchers had recovered more than 800 bodies from the train's eight cars.

A military spokesman said 200 of the victims from the train were cremated or buried next to the tracks after nobody claimed the bodies.

Buddhist monks held prayers for the dead as the bodies were cremated.