Albright is greeted at the airport in Port Moresby

In this story:

• Aid details
• Disaster area flyover
• 'We need the basics'
• Related stories and sites

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Wednesday announced $650,000 in new aid to Papua New Guinea in the aftermath of giant waves that literally swept away villages and claimed more than 1,600 lives.

Albright also got a bird's-eye glimpse of the 20-mile (30-kilometer) stretch of South Pacific coastline hit hardest by the July 17 tsunami. The beaches appeared empty under the sunny afternoon sky. "We could only imagine the horror of what took place," Albright said.

Albright, the first American secretary of state to visit the nation, conveyed condolences from President Bill Clinton during a two-hour stopover and said Washington was determined to help.

Aid details

The new aid announced by Albright includes:

• $250,000 to complement Australian medical assistance for survivors and to help rebuild the livelihood of some of the fishing villages that were destroyed.

• $400,000 to collaborate with Papua New Guinea, Australia and other nations to improve the island's early warning system.

This brings U.S. aid after the tsunami disaster to more than $1 million when combined with $400,000 in relief supplies, including tents, water containers, cots and medical assistance provided earlier, Albright said.

The secretary of state also announced $450,000 in U.S. aid to support peace efforts by the United Nations in Bougainville, a separatist stronghold.

The Papua New Guinea government and the separatists in April signed a peace agreement, and Albright said Washington wanted to help them seize a "historic opportunity" for peace.

Prime Minister Bill Skate praised the U.S. assistance and invited Clinton to make a stop in 1999 when he attends the Asia Pacific Economic Forum meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.

Disaster area flyover

Albright was greeted on arrival by several dozen drum-beating dancers and singers in native costumes ornamented by chicken feathers, dog teeth and human hair.

Thousands were injured in the tsunami

Her brief stop was en route from an Asian regional meeting in the Philippines to annual security talks in Australia.

As her U.S. Air Force plane approached Papua New Guinea -- the nation occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea -- those on board had a chance to see the damaged areas, including the decimated village of Aitape.

The area, dominated by heavy jungle and Sissano Lagoon, where most of the deaths occurred, seemed eerily quiet, but the havoc unleashed by the wall of water was not clearly visible as the jet passed overhead at 25,000 feet (7,500 meters).

Albright aides said the plane was asked not to fly lower because it might interfere with airborne rescue operations still under way.

'We need the basics'

Skate said that the giant waves had claimed more than 1,600 lives. Officials have said the death toll could rise as high as 3,000.

Cecila Sangul, a government disaster-relief official, told reporters, "We need the basics like cooking utensils, bedding, medicine ... building supplies."

Government officials said that many of the residents who fled to higher land are reluctant to come back because they are fearful another large wave will strike.

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