Asia Marks 2 Years Since Tsunami

Anniversary Of Devastating Waves Observed In Somber Memorials, Safety Drills

(CBS/AP)  The drill on Indonesia's resort island of Bali — which involved real-time warnings sent from the capital to radios along the beach — was as much about raising awareness as testing technology deployed in the country hardest hit two years ago.

Nearly 167,000 of those killed were from Aceh province — hundreds of miles from Bali.

Sirens wailed as masses, many of them school children, briskly walked inland from the shore, accompanied by Indonesia's minister of research and technology and a handful of foreign tourists.

"The biggest challenge is working with the people to make them aware," said German geologist Harald Spahn, who is helping Indonesia set up its alert network. "It is a really complex job that many people underestimate."

Underscoring his point, a woman selling baked corn on the beach refused to budge.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Wati. "I still have to make some money this morning."

In Thailand, ceremonies will be held along the Andaman coast with Buddhist prayers to remember more than 8,200 killed. Balloons will be launched and candles lit along beaches once again filled with sun-seeking tourists.

But as authorities prepared to open a cemetery for hundreds of unidentified tsunami victims, a new scandal emerged.

The U.S. and six other Western nations said as much as 60 percent of the $1.6 million set aside to help identify those who died may have been misused, an unnamed U.S. diplomat was quoted as saying in The Nation, an English-language daily published in Thailand.

The money appears to have gone toward travel and other miscellaneous costs, he said, calling for an investigation.

In Sri Lanka, the resurgence of a civil war has added to the misery of survivors and slowed efforts to rebuild — sparking criticism from outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who urged Tamil Tiger rebels and the military to lay down their arms.

"No one could have prevented the tsunami's wave of destruction," he wrote in a statement. "But together, we can stem the tide of conflict, which threatens once again to engulf the people of Sri Lanka."

Temple bells chimed to mark the exact time the first wave crashed ashore, and all cars and trucks came to a standstill for two minutes. Looking to the future, officials also erected the first of 100 coastal warning towers.

In India, where another 18,000 are believed to have died, interfaith ceremonies were being be held and in Malaysia, where 69 people were killed, volunteers were replanting mangroves.

The 2004 tsunami generated an unprecedented outpouring of generosity, with donor pledges reaching some $13.6 billion, but many of those homeless complain they are stuck with poorly built structures that leak, are termite-infested or located in flood zones.

Corruption has also marred the process, with several nongovernment organizations forced to delay projects or rebuild homes after contractors and suppliers ran off with the funds.