The confirmed number of people killed in the Indian Ocean tidal wave disaster is now nearly 77,000.
A senior international Red Cross official said the toll could exceed 100,000 when figures for India's Bay of Bengal islands are known.
Aid agencies and Western countries are increasing efforts to help survivors of the disaster, which was triggered by an undersea earthquake last Sunday.
The worst affected country was Indonesia where authorities have said more than 45,000 people are confirmed dead. A UN official said the death count might eventually reach up to 80,000 in Indonesia alone. The organisation has also said that disease could double the death toll.
Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation has said that up to five million people now need help in the disaster zone.
One of the largest aid operations the world has ever seen is now underway to provide relief for the survivors of the devastating series of sea surges across southern Asia.
As many as 3,500 tourists are missing in the region.
Experts say the multi-nation response will need to gather many billions of euro in the coming days to get aid and relief to where it is urgently needed.
So far, more than 20 countries have pledged emergency aid worth over €45m. The United States has increased its financial commitment from $15m to $35m. US warships with 15,000 troops are carrying relief supplies to the region.
Across the region searches are continuing for bodies on beaches and collapsed buildings. In the worst hit areas – Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India – bodies are being buried quickly to halt the spread of disease. Hospitals and supplies are stretched to the limit and many remote areas have not yet been reached.
In Indonesia, soldiers and rescue crews finally reached the town of Meulaboh on the west coast of tsunami-stricken Aceh province to find at least 3,400 dead bodies.
Aceh is located on Sumatra, the Island nearest the epicentre of Sunday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake that sent walls of water across the Bay of Bengal.
Rescue teams are still trying to reach the last of India's remote areas of the Andaman and Nicobar island chains. They believe thousands of people could be stranded there.
Confirmed death tolls by country:
Bangladesh 2
East Africa 136
India 6,974
Indonesia 45,268
Malaysia 64
Maldives 67
Myanmar 36
Sri Lanka 22,493
Thailand 1,657
