United Nations agencies are appealing for immediate assistance to communities on the Somali coast affected by South Asia's earthquake-generated tsunami.
The appeal was issued Friday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which took part in an aerial assessment of the affected areas in northern Somalia.
Meanwhile, the number of dead in Somalia has climbed to at least 132 people, although the Associated Press quotes a senior Somali official as putting the number at 200. Many others remain missing.
The United Nations says it is difficult to get a clear picture of both the number of those killed and the extent of the damage because the region is remote and the conditions are harsh.
The U.N. World Food Program began distributing relief supplies Wednesday in the town of Hafun on the northern coast of Somalia.
The tsunami also took lives in Tanzania, Seychelles and Kenya.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
