Rescuers were today ready to give up hope of finding more survivors in Indonesia’s shattered Sumatra island, one week after tsunamis wrought death and destruction on a massive scale across Asia.

Heavy rain fell on Indonesia’s corpse-littered city of Banda Aceh today, creating the conditions for cholera and other waterborne diseases to spread and adding to the misery of the thousands made homeless by the quake and tsunamis.

Fears rose in Indonesia today that the bodies of perhaps tens of thousands of victims will never be found. Entire villages have been swept to sea.

As foreign military cargo planes touched down in Indonesia today with emergency aid, fears rose that the bodies of perhaps tens of thousands of victims will never be found. Entire villages have been swept to sea.