PORTLAND (AP) – Immigrants in Maine have spent countless hours on the Internet and telephone trying to reach family members left homeless after a devastating earthquake killed almost 24,000 people in 10 countries.

“There’s a lot of worry,” said Suwanna Truong, 41, of Portland, who spent much of Monday trying to call relatives in her native Thailand.

The tsunami killed thousands in countries including Indonesia, Somalia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

More than 12,000 people died in Sri Lanka, nearly 5,000 in Indonesia, and 4,000 in India.

The International Red Cross, which reported 23,700 deaths, said it was concerned that diseases like malaria and cholera could add to the toll.

Truong, who owns Sengchai Thai Cuisine in Portland, said agencies should move quick to address that threat of spreading diseases.

She said Thailand is not able to handle the crisis without international help.

Her restaurant has worked to raise money to help people in Thailand, she said.

Balakrishnan Meenakshisundaran, 30, an Indian immigrant who lives in Scarborough, has also poured through Internet newspaper sites for days trying to learn of the condition in the port city of Chennai.

His parents live in the city, which was struck by a tsunami which sped from the epicenter of the earthquake at speeds as fast as 500 mph.

Meenakshisundaran said his parents live about six miles from shore and were unharmed by the waves. But the ocean surge devastated people who lived on the coast, many of whom are fishermen who live in huts the wave washed out.

Charities and relief agencies in Maine are pushing to help to those relatives of Maine residents affected by the storm.

Carleen Cook, director of Catholic Relief Services in Maine, said the agency is waiting to hear from aid workers to find out what help is most needed.

AP-ES-12-28-04 0216EST