A psychologist at the University of Washington, who just returned from Indonesia, on Friday warned of mental health crisis among the survivors of Asian tsunamis.

"We are seeing children petrified by seeing water in a tub or cowering when large airplanes are flying overhead because they sound like rushing water," Randall Kyes, a research associate professor of psychology, said in a press release.

Kyes said, in the tsunami-hit regions, some children had begun to stop talking and adults were beginning to experience nightmares and severe insomnia.

"The critical period is now and for the next six months. You don't meet a single person who didn't lose someone," said Kyes, who spent a week in Banda Aceh, a city that was the hardest-hit by the disasters. 

Kyes worked in Indonesia helping to set up an emergency psychological trauma center and in recovering bodies of victims.

Meanwhile, he conducted workshops and gave lectures to volunteers on basic education and treatment for psychological trauma.

"When you talk about a disaster of this scale, the extent of psychological damage is enormous," he said. "Many individuals may never totally recover and will have concerns and fear that will not be completely resolved. But if people can get treatment early on, the prognosis for improvement is much better."

The real concern is for children, especially those who lost their families and have no support to reach out for help. They really suffered twice, first the loss of parents and siblings and now coping with surviving the tsunami, the psychologist said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2005)