Australia, Britain ramp up aid pledges as tsunami fallout mushrooms

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2004

LONDON (AFP) — The British and Australian governments followed Japan and the United States in pledging dramatic increases in emergency aid for victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia as the world community struggled to cope with its mushrooming fallout.

London and Canberra, each pledging the equivalent of nearly 30 million dollars (22.1 million euros), expected to raise their contributions further as awareness of the scale of the destruction, loss of life and risk of epidemics grew by the hour.

The announcements amounted to a 15-fold increase in commitments from the British government and a three-fold increase from Australia, a day after the United States more than doubled its pledge to 35 million dollars.

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