Heavy rains and flash floods have dealt a blow to the relief operation exactly one week after Asia’s tsunami disaster. Flooding along Sri-Lanka’s low-lying coast has halted some aid deliveries, and tropical rains in Indonesia’s northern Aceh province have also hindered efforts to help. The planet has pledged some two billion dollars worth of assistance, that is around 1.46 billion euros. Hundreds of tonnes of emergency medicines, food and shelter are being airlifted in.

But getting these necessities to the millions left homeless by the massive waves unleashed by an undersea earthquake is another matter. A lack of fuel has posed problems in Aceh while the devastated road network also means that reaching the most remote areas is extremely difficult. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is due in Indonesia on Thursday for a conference on tsunami aid. The official death toll now stands at over 129,000. For the survivors, the struggle to get from one day to the next goes on. Many have simply lost everything and whatever the world does to help, victims of this tragedy face a highly uncertain future.

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