MALE, Maldives (9 Feb 2005) -- The United Nations started a program where companies may pay as much as $4.4 million to ``adopt an island'' in the Maldives, where many areas were destroyed by the December tsunami disaster. The tsunami, which left an estimated 300,000 people dead or missing in 12 countries around the Indian Ocean, killed about 80 people in the Maldives and forced people to abandon 13 islands because all buildings were smashed and fresh water contaminated by the sea, the UN said on its Web site. ''Outside assistance is needed if the challenge of rebuilding one-third of the country's inhabited islands is to be met,'' the UN said. The Maldives, a popular holiday destination with a population of 339,330 people, is the world's flattest country with a maximum height of 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) and has 1,190 coral islands, the UN said. Waves from the tsunami reached as high as 30 feet in Sri Lanka, which was struck before the Maldives. Of its 202 inhabited islands, 87 are used exclusively for holiday resorts, the UN said. Adoptions of islands would involve covering the cost of purchasing and delivering building materials as well as paying for people's labor, the UN said. A $4.4 million donation would enable more than 1,000 people to rebuild, while the minimum of $95,000 would help 58 families fix their homes and other buildings. Offering Aid U.S. President George W. Bush will ask Congress for $950 million in aid for countries to rebuild after the Asian tsunami, increasing his aid pledge by $600 million. | | ''We will use these resources to provide assistance to and to work with the affected nations on rebuilding vital infrastructure that re-energizes economies and strengthens societies,'' Bush said in a statement yesterday. The administration plans to use $339 million of the aid to build roads, schools and water systems, $168 million for food, shelter and education as victims move back to their communities, $35 million for early warning efforts and $62 million for technical assistance, a White House fact sheet said. The Defense Department and USAID would receive $346 million for immediate relief costs. SOURCE - Bloomberg |
