PEAK THREAT STILL AHEAD IN INDONESIA TSUNAMI ZONE

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Hunger and grief stalked Indonesia's devastated Aceh province on Wednesday as officials tried to reach remote areas where tens of thousands were thought to have died from a massive earthquake and tsunami.

In provincial capital Banda Aceh, the stench of death filled the air three days after the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami it triggered swept the region. Food and other essentials were scarce, adding to a sense of helplessness and anger among the living.

At least 100 bloated and blackened bodies were still visible on just one small stretch of Banda Aceh's beachfront, tangled together with piles of debris left by Sunday's raging waters.

Many more corpses are believed to fill remote towns and cities near the quake's epicenter, posing a major health risk as officials warn of the threat of disease to survivors.

Michael Elmquist, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Indonesia, told reporters his educated guess was the death toll in Aceh might reach between 50,000 and 80,000.

"The news I got from a government official on arrival today was that their estimate was that a third of the population (of Meulaboh) had been wiped out, which would equal 40,000 people."

Meulaboh is 150 km (90 miles) from the epicenter of the quake, the most powerful in 40 years.
The latest government death toll estimate for Indonesia was 45,268. Aceh accounted for all but 239 of those.

A Reuters cameraman in Meulaboh on Wednesday estimated 80 percent of the city's infrastructure was destroyed, with most homes and many shops flattened or wrecked.

Only a few people venturing out, looking for missing relatives. Many bodies were still on the streets or under rubble. Soldiers were trying to clear the debris and collect the dead by hand.

The threat of disease grew greater by the hour.

"Many people have illnesses such as respiratory problems, diarrhea, skin irritations and cuts. There are still maybe thousands of bodies out there. We are reaching the peak of the threat," Edward Sy, an Indonesian Red Cross senior field officer, told Reuters in Banda Aceh.

"If the government doesn't immediately take action, worse diseases could spread." In two to three days signs of cholera could emerge, Sy said.