Seventy per cent of the $33 million raised in the Government co-ordinated charity event for the South Asia tsunami victims will be presented to the Red Cross, World Vision, Oxfam, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Salvation Army.

With the groups' consent, 30% of the figure will be set aside to meet the needs of those tsunami-affected Hong Kong citizens. The remaining 70% will be shared among the five groups in three slots.

The Home Affairs Department will allocate $7.5 million to the five charity groups tomorrow on top of the first grant of $10 million made on January 7. The remaining $7.5 million will be given to the organisations as soon as possible.

An advisory committee will be set up and will soon hold a meeting to decide how to allocate the sum set aside for tsunami-affected Hong Kong people.

Tsunami toll: 10 dead, 2 in hospital

Some 877 enquiries and 1,396 requests for assistance concerning the tsunami have been made on the Immigration Department's 2829 3010 hotline, as at noon today.

Fatalities involving Hong Kong residents remain at 10. A woman and a girl are still hospitalised in Thailand.

There are 56 cases in which callers have been able to provide the personal particulars of the residents concerned as well as some information about their last known locations. Thirty-one are reported to be in Thailand, eight in Indonesia, one in Malaysia, and 16 in other places. There are no reported cases involving Hong Kong residents in Sri Lanka or the Maldives.

There are 149 Hong Kong residents whose family members have not provided the personal particulars or specific information on the last known locations of these residents. The Immigration Department is liaising with the caller in each of these cases to gather the required information for immediate follow-up action.

Essential services continue

With the fall in demand for services, the Hong Kong multi-disciplinary support team's deployment in Thailand will continue to be adjusted, although all essential services will continue.

Help desks in Phuket and Bangkok International Airport are operating during busy hours only. The multi-disciplinary support team will also maintain its presence in hospitals where Hong Kong residents are staying.

Three telephone hotlines will continue to operate around the clock to provide assistance. They are 096471215 and 096471208 (for calling from Thailand) or Hong Kong number (852) 9038 6578. Local residents may call the Immigration Department's hotline 2829 3010.

On the DNA database set up by Thai authorities to help verify the identity of victims, Hong Kong Police continue to contact relatives of missing Hong Kong people for the collection of DNA samples. So far, samples from 26 family members have been taken.

Beware of bogus email

People should also beware of suspected fraud emails soliciting donations to help South Asian people affected by the tsunamis. Reports on such email can be made to Police at 2860 5012.

Meanwhile, due to the considerable damage caused by the tsunami in the Aceh and North Sumatera Provinces in Indonesia, mail delivery services to Banda Aceh, Meulaboh, Sigli and Tapaktuan has been temporarily suspended.