Online edition of Daily News

Britain's Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn has personally responded to the crisis in Sri Lanka by taking immediate action. On his orders a plane flew out from Gatwick Airport laden with emergency relief supplies after the Government of Sri Lanka made an urgent and direct appeal to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Her Majesty's Government for urgent assistance to tackle the devastation in Sri Lanka.

The people of Sri Lanka are unable to cope on their own, they have never ever experienced a disaster of this magnitude and the country needs all the help they can get from Britain, the European Union, the United States, Australia, India, Pakistan and other nations.

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard as people queue to collect clothing distributed at an emergency camp at a school in the southern Sri Lankan city of Galle, December 31. AFP

Britain's response has been magnificent - several London based aid agencies like Christian Aid, Oxfam, Care International, Worldvision, have already despatched vital supplies to Colombo and teams are working as I write, in the affected areas of the south and the east.

Christian Aid and Oxfam have managed to get through badly needed fresh water supplies to the east. Appeals are being launched in the UK and Britons are being urged to dig deep into their pockets - to reach out to those who have lost everything in places like Sri Lanka.

Even so many little children have lost their lives - some were playing on beaches before the Tsunami swept them away. This Tsunami has brought tears to the very face of Sri Lanka, ravaged by war, and now, devastated by a natural disaster. Even people with disabilities have been affected. Some have perished.

Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn said: "It's clear that many people have lost their lives in this terrible tragedy, while hundreds of thousands of others are now having to deal with the aftermath.

"We are doing all we can to offer practical help and support. DFID disaster response teams have been working since early this morning."

Mr. Benn said that DFID was sending two people to join the UN disaster response assessment and co-ordination teams heading for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and two other assessment teams were on standby.

"We have already agreed to help fund the World Health Organisation's response team and we are looking to see if we can charter civilian helicopters to help in search and rescue operations in Sri Lanka," he said.

The vast Sri Lankan Community in the UK have joined forces in helping in the aid effort. Sri Lankans in the UK have urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair and DFID Secretary of State Hilary Benn to help Sri Lanka set up an early warning system so that the people of Sri Lanka could take immediate action - particularly those living near the sea.

They say it took 2-3 hours for the Tsunami to reach the shores of Sri Lanka after the earthquake near Sumatra caused such devastation, registering 9 on the Richter Scale.

That would have given people in the affected areas time to get out, that is if they received such a warning. Some members of the media have criticised India and Sri Lanka for not buying into an early warning system on the grounds of cost. They say it could have saved thousands of lives.

DFID Secretary of State Hilary Benn spoke about the early warning system in an interview with ITN in London but he said that was something to be discussed in the future, the immediate priority was to get supplies out to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankans in the UK are in a state of shock. News bulletins on BBC News 24, Sky TV, ITN, CNN show terrible scenes of carnage and devastation in Sri Lanka.

One of the most harrowing scenes from Sri Lanka, captured on film, were four girls, desperately clinging on to the side of a building, the current proves too strong and two are washed away.

We don't know their fate. This heart breaking moment is repeated time and time again on the news channels. We can only pray in times like these for all those who are suffering or who have lost loved ones and prayers are being said in churches right across the UK, in temples and in mosques in Britain.

This is the season of giving, at Christmas and Christians in the UK have been responding by collecting funds and giving it to the aid agencies to help the people of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankans were exasperated that they could not telephone their loved ones - all lines to the island were continually engaged as callers jammed the system. The Foreign Office hotline was also in the same predicament and relatives of British tourists were frantically trying to contact their loved ones.

The only technology that seemed to work was texting on a mobile phone. Students from Dream Harvest College in Stratford were stunned - they too were trying to contact their families back in Sri Lanka. BBC TV London filmed councillor Paul Sathianesan from the London Borough of Newham also trying to contact his relatives in Sri Lanka - without success.

That has been the exasperation with Britons and Sri Lankans alike - they were unable to contact their loved ones to see if they were safe. Sky Television asked people in the affected countries to send messages to [email protected] and they flashed messages on the Sky TV News ticker.

News channels also featured an interview with Manager of the Sri Lanka cricket team Brendon Kurrupu who said that the last thing on their minds was cricket. The Sri Lankan cricketers currently touring New Zealand have been given the next five days off as Sri Lanka goes into a national time of mourning.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply saddened to learn of the dreadful situation" and offered her sympathy, as did the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

French President Jacques Chirac sent Sri Lanka's President a letter expressing his sympathy. Also featured prominently is European Union MEP, Sri Lanka- born Niranjan Deva Aditiya who is currently holidaying in Colombo. Deva Aditiya has been mobilising EU support and funds to help the victims in this tragedy.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga's plea for doctors - overseas doctors - to fly to Sri Lanka in the next two to three weeks to help in Sri Lanka, has been taken up by the British media.

Sri Lanka's medical staff and hospitals are stretched to the limit and the cry is for doctors to fly to Colombo to assist in this terrible crisis.

The death toll could move up to tens of thousands, with over a million homeless. Disease, particularly through contaminated water, will follow the Tsunami - adding to this humanitarian crisis.