President George W. Bush announced on 3 January 2005 that former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush would jointly lead a campaign to raise private American donations for countries devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami. The two men were asked to encourage citizens and businesses to contribute to international aid organizations providing relief and reconstruction assistance.
All three presidents planned to visit the Washington embassies of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, the four nations most severely affected, to sign condolence books.
The confirmed death toll from the 26 December earthquake and subsequent waves stood at 145,161 as of Monday. The US Geological Survey recorded the undersea quake, located west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, at magnitude 9.0, the strongest recorded anywhere in the world in 40 years.
Indonesia sustained the heaviest losses. The country's health ministry tallied 94,081 dead, with coastal villages obliterated by the water. Officials cautioned the final count in Aceh and North Sumatra alone could reach 100,000.
Bush's initial government aid commitment had drawn criticism as insufficient, and the White House event was arranged on short notice.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.