The sea level increased overnight and in some areas, the situation has been adversely affected by the blocking of drainage canals. Most of the victims are homeless pavement dwellers and beggars. Power and communications have been totally disrupted by the cyclone, which swept up from the Bay of Bengal on the evening of Nov 15th with windspeeds of up to 150mph. The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), sent financial aid to Taipei on the first day of the disaster and opened a nationally advertised bank account for public donations, as well as keeping a 24-hour nation wide telephone line open for donations. As regards immediate assistance UNHCR has placed an order for some 2,000 lightweight tents along with 5,000 plastic sheets, 5,000 jerry cans, 3,500 kitchen sets and 3 rubhalls from its emergency stockpiles to be delivered to Medan, from where they will be immediately distributed to Nias. Latrine usage is not common in these areas, but the stagnant flood waters make changing habits all the more urgent. Most were cases with respiratory infections (42 %), followed by malaria (21.7 %), intestinal worms (7.7 %) and diarrhoea (6.3 %). The emergency food and other assistance needs for a growing number of persons displaced by war or drought in this region - plus the needs of an increasingly desperate local population - can be projected to increase substantially over the next twelve months. A dozen bodies were extricated and 105 people escaped alive from the building, most in the first hours after the quake. They would also constitute rapid response teams to deal with disease outbreaks and potential epidemics in conjunction with the government. Scientists in Uzbekistan are voicing serious concerns over the ecological and environmental effects of a new artificial lake being created in the eastern part of Turkmenistan near the Uzbek border. A follow-up committee" was set up and first met in Moroni, the capital on Grande-Comore island, early in March, with a brief to draw up a new constitution for a loose federation and to set up an independent national electoral commission.