On Sunday, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean senthigh waves crashing onto the shores of coastal Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Maldives and Bangladesh, and submerged villages and towns. The death toll from the catastrophe currently climbed to over 80,000 and concerns grewover epidemic outbreaks. Brazil decided to provide 10 tons of food and eight tons of medicine for tsunami victims.

The National Security Cabinet said an air force plane carrying the cargo will leave an air base in Brasilia for Bangkok, Thailand.

The Sri Lankan consulate also launched a campaign in Brasilia to request more humanitarian aid for the victims of the tidal waves.

In Mexico City, local media said an independent group of eight Mexican rescuers will soon travel to Indonesia, one of the countries whose shores were devastated by the tsunami.

Rafael Lopez, chief of Mole Brigade of Tlatelolco, said the local government decided to finance the cost of the airfare tickets of the group.

He added that the rescuers, backed by a trained dog, will help find survivors and corpses caught in debris in Meran, a seriously devastated region in Indonesia.

Also on Wednesday, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner ordered sending humanitarian aid to the tsunami-hit areas.

Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa said in a statement that Argentina will coordinate the shipment of 2.5 million water-purifying pills with the United Nations.

The pills will be offered to some 800,000 people in rescue centers in tsunami-hit countries.

In Santiago, Chilean Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker said a medical team will depart Saturday for Indonesia to help the victims of the tragedy.

The team, headed by an epidemiologist, will stay there for at least 20 days for medical assistance tasks, he added.

"They'll modestly represent Chile, but want to symbolize the commitment of the Chilean people, of the young people, of all people who have joined hands to help the affected countries," saidWalker.

Venezuela said on Wednesday that it will initially donate 2 million US dollars for a fund set up by the United Nations to helpthe numerous victims in South and Southeast Asia.

The amount is "relatively modest" but meaningful for a country as Venezuela, said Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez, referring to the contribution of 1.3 billion dollars which the UN expects to collect.

Rodriguez told the press that Venezuela will observe "the direction in which the situation moves" with respect to the UN fund, as "it is necessary to coordinate efforts with the rest of nations."