Maine relatives reaching out to victims of quake

Immigrants in Maine have spent countless hours on the Internet and telephone trying to reach family members left homeless after a devastating earthquake killed more than 55,000 people in a dozen countries.

“There’s a lot of worry,” said Suwanna Truong, 41, of Portland, who spent much of Monday trying to call relatives in her native Thailand.

The tsunami killed thousands in countries including Indonesia, Somalia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The International Red Cross says it is concerned that diseases such as malaria and cholera could add to the toll.

Truong, who owns Sengchai Thai Cuisine in Portland, said agencies should move quickly to address that threat of spreading diseases.

She said Thailand is not able to handle the crisis without international help. Her restaurant has worked to raise money to help people in Thailand, she said.

Balakrishnan Meenakshisundaran, 30, an Indian immigrant who lives in Scarborough, also has gone through Internet newspaper sites, trying to learn of the condition in the port city of Chennai.

His parents live in the city, which was struck by a tsunami that sped from the epicenter of the earthquake at speeds as fast as 500 mph.

Meenakshisundaran said his parents live about six miles from shore and were unharmed by the waves. But the ocean surge devastated people who lived on the coast, many of whom are fishermen who live in huts the wave washed out.

Charities and relief agencies in Maine are pushing to help those relatives of Maine residents affected by the storm.

Carleen Cook, director of Catholic Relief Services in Maine, said the agency is waiting to hear from aid workers to find out what help is most needed.