The US increased the amount of aid pledged 10-fold to $350 million. That doesn’t include the millions more pledged voluntarily through organizations like the Red Cross.

Meanwhile, Kofi Annan finally speaks on the disaster. Apparently, he didn’t want to interrupt his ski vacation in Jackson, Wyoming to deal with the crisis.

Q: Mr. Secretary, picking up on Richard’s question, I think a lot of people are asking exactly why you waited three days on vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before you decided to fly back to New York in the face of this extraordinary crisis. Could you give us a full explanation of your thinking on that? Secondly, what kind of signal does that 72-hour delay send to the nations to which you are now appealing for greater help?

[Kofi Annan]: First of all, there was action. It wasn’t inaction. We live in a world where you can operate from wherever you are. You know the world we live in now. You don’t have to be physically here to be dealing with the leaders and the Governments I have been dealing with. You don’t have to be physically here to be discussing with some of the agencies that we have done.