Families wait anxiously for news of loved ones

Northland families are waiting anxiously to see if loved ones have survived a savage tsunami which hit Sri Lanka on Boxing Day.
Whangarei Sri Lankan families, the Vigneswarans and the Balasinghams, have been met with a constant busy phone tone as they try to get news of their families in Sri Lanka where more than 22,000 people have been killed and many more are missing.
Up to 70,000 people in countries rimming the Indian Ocean may be dead as a result of a large quake and the resulting tsunami.
Another Whangarei family, which includes promising Northland cricketer Neil Packiyarajah, flew into Sri Lanka just before the tsunami hit, but have sent word to their friends the Vigneswarans that they are okay.
Whangarei couple Nagu Vigneswaran and Diana Nagulesan have family in the northern city of Jaffna - a coastal city where more than 400 people were killed by the tsunami.
When the Northern Advocate visited their Kamo home yesterday, the family was watching television for the latest update on their country. The couple and Mrs Nagulesan's mother Saras Selvadurai have not been able to contact relatives in Jaffna.
While they were relieved to hear other family and friends living in coastal areas were fine, they were still worried about others - even those inland - as they just wanted to know they were safe.
"It's almost like a dream as people (Sri Lankans) have not experienced this type of event," Mr Vigneswaran said.
"There should have been some sort of warning system."
Ajit Balasingham, the managing director of Northland transport company United Carriers, has been trying to get in contact with friends and family.
However, he is counting his blessings that his mother, Ranji Balasingham, had arrived in Whangarei a few days before the tsunami hit her home in Trincomalee.
The coastal city is surrounded by ocean on three sides and was one of the worst areas hit in the country of 20 million.
Mr Balasingham had been in touch with his aunty in Trincomalee, who was fine, but was concerned about friends and family who lived near the coast, whom he had not been able to contact.
"We're still trying to make contact but it's hard because the traffic (phone) is quite high."
Meanwhile, the Packiyarajah family, husband and wife Raj and Anusha, and sons Neil, Nilroy and Api, flew into Sri Lanka before Christmas for a one-month trip around the country.
Teenager Neil is a talented cricketer who plays for the Northland side while his father is a mathematics teacher at Kamo High School.
According to Mr Vigneswaran - a family friend - the Packiyarajah family is stuck in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
Transport around the country has been practically brought to a stop after the coastal railway line was washed away.
Mr Vigneswaran said the Packiyarajah family had planned to travel to Galle, a popular south-west beach spot that was devastated by the tsunami.
The family were also supposed to have travelled to eastern coastal city, Batticaloa, this week.