``I've been in war and I've have been through a number of hurricanes, tornadoes and other relief operations, but I have never seen anything like this,'' the former general said. ``The power of the wave to destroy bridges, to destroy factories, to destroy homes, to destroy crops, to destroy everything in its path is amazing.''

Powell was accompanied by President Bush's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and other U.S. officials in a helicopter tour of areas hard hit in the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. At least 94,000 people were killed in Indonesia (more than 140,000 died in 12 countries).

Early today, Powell returned to Jakarta to attend a summit with more than 20 world leaders to discuss the disbursement and organization of relief aid.

The United States has contributed $350 million and has a 13,435 military contingent, with 21 U.S. ships, 48 helicopters and 41 other aircraft, providing assistance.

Powell's presence in Indonesia, as well as the relief flights being run by the U.S. Navy, represented an opportunity to burnish America's image in a large Muslim country at a time when the war on terrorism has complicated and soured relations between America and much of the Islamic world.

In Aceh, some people expressed appreciation for what the United States is doing, although this opinion is not universally held in Indonesia.

``It's very kind of them,'' said Abu Bakar, 54, a supermarket owner who lost two of his shops and many of his employees in the devastation. ``We welcome the U.S.''

These kinds of views reflect more than gratitude toward tsunami assistance. Aceh is suffering through a long-running military conflict between the Indonesian military and an Aceh separatist group, and people here look to the United States to help solve the conflict and tend to view the government in Jakarta with suspicion.

`Like A Small Nuclear Bomb'

Powell flew to this Aceh provincial capital, a hub for tons of international relief aid destined to hundreds of thousands of survivors in Indonesia, on an official Boeing 757 jet. The plane circled over the airport during his visit so some aircraft could still land and take off during his stop.

Transferring to three U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters, Powell and his entourage first flew low over lush rice fields and steady traffic in the undamaged sections of Banda Aceh.

Then, suddenly, as if a curtain had plunged across the land, the devastation left by the tsunami was apparent. As far as the eye could see, muck and debris covered the earth. Rice fields and hundreds of palm trees looked as if they had been combed in the direction of the waves. From the sky, pieces of houses and buildings appeared scattered like seashells on the shore.

Gov. Bush sighed heavily as he emerged from the helicopter at the end of the 33-minute flight. ``That was ... oh man,'' he said. Bush then asked an aid official how far the devastation continued down the coastline, and he was told about 100 miles.

``I've seen nothing like that,'' said Bush, whose state suffered through four hurricanes last year.

``It almost looked like a small nuclear bomb hit the country,'' AID administrator Andrew Natsios said. ``I was stunned by it and I've been doing disasters for 15 years now.''

Aid Pledges Surpass $3 Billion

Powell's helicopter then headed out to the northwestern coast of Aceh, flying over the villages of Lhok Nga and Tanjunj. In one neighborhood, along the western coast, the only building standing was a large, white mosque, and for hundreds of yards on all sides, everything else had been swept away, leaving only the bare, white foundations.

Roads were often impassable. At one point, some men peered over the edge of a downed bridge, their motorcycles idling.

Along the coast, several barges and a freighter had been dashed along the shoreline, spread out and lying on their sides. The helicopter passed over two small encampments where small groups of people, apparently survivors, stood between tents of blue tarpaulin. About 15 people slowly picked their way through the muck, near blue sheeting that appeared to be used as a temporary shelter.

Powell's pilot, Cmdr. Mike Horan, of Mountain View, Calif., said the crew wanted to show him the force of the tsunami. ``There is no debris,'' Horan said after the flight. ``It's all gone. There 120 miles like that with nothing.''

Horan and his co-pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Leavitt, of Atlanta, are stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln and have been flying relief flights since Saturday. Asked to describe Powell's reaction to what he saw, Horan would only say, ``Shock.''

At the donors meeting in Jakarta, world leaders opened the session with a moment of silence for the tsunami victims after a new round of competing donations saw pledges move well past $3 billion.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan told the gathering that his organization estimates the final death toll will surpass 150,000 across southern Asia and parts of Africa.

``Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together we have the power to stop those next waves,'' Annan said, launching an appeal for an addition $1.7 billion in disaster relief.

The meeting came just hours after some nations increased their pledges. Australia promised $810 million - the largest so far - topping a $674 million German aid package.

Information from the Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press was used in this report.