UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in Jakarta Thursday that the Dec. 26 unprecedented, global catastrophe requires an unprecedented global response to cope with,calling on the international community to wake from the "nightmare".

Annan is here to attend the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami which opened Thursday morning in Jakarta, capital of this worst-hit country in the calamity. Theone-day emergency summit is being held under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with the UN Secretary General.

The UN chief said what happened on Dec. 26 is the largest natural disaster the world body has had to respond to on behalf ofthe world community as the exact magnitude of how many men, women and children perished on the day may never by known.

Describing the earthquake-triggered tsunami as a "nightmare", Annan said the real figure of death toll is likely to exceed 150,000, with at least 500,000 people injured, more than a million people displaced, nearly 2 million people in need of food aid, and many more in need of water, sanitation and health care.

"So as we grieve for the dead and pray for those still searching for loved ones, we have a duty to the survivors," said the UN chief.

Annan said that about 977 million US dollars was immediately needed to cover humanitarian emergency needs for 5 million tsunami disaster survivors over the next six months.

Before the meeting started, Annan joined other grim-faced heads of state or government, ministers and senior officials of international organizations in observing one-minute silence for tsunami victims.

Annan listed the following as the duty to the survivors who are still striving to grapple with the disaster: To treat the wounded; to prevent further suffering as a result of polluted drinking water, destroyed infrastructure, lack of food, clothing and shelter; to stop the tsunami from being followed by a second wave of death from preventable causes.

In his speech, Annan launched an appeal for the immediate international relief effort which the United Nations is undertaking in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Somalia.

"This initial appeal is in addition to the 59 million dollars which our partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent have asked for," he said.

Annan said the UN humanitarian effort is led by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland and within the affected region by his Special Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom. And Chair of the UN Development Group Mark Malloch Brown will be coordinating the relief effort with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the session in his capacity as chairman of the special meeting.

Country delegations led by the heads of state or government are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Countries represented by ministers are India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States, and Canada.

The international organizations participating in the summit are the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the United Nations World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Annan is due to make a fact-finding trip to Banda Aceh after the meeting which concludes in the afternoon.

Source: Xinhua