One was a terrible natural disaster last December's Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 31, 000 Sri Lankans, affected two-thirds of the island's coastline and displaced nearly half a million people.

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To attract donations, BBF depends mainly on its reputation, word of mouth and occasional local publicity when one of its 200 annual cargo containers leaves the warehouse for a hot world disaster spot, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or, a rare domestic effort, 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

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Stanley Goosby, a chief scientist with the Pacific Disaster Center in Hawaii, said Indian Ocean countries have made significant progress in tsunami preparedness.

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The fear is that it turns out to be the worst natural disaster since the Kashmir earthquake of 2005, when 86, 000 died, or even the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 that killed 230, 000.

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