you can't have a properly administered charity effort that involves providing cash, if dishonesty is rampant. suppose Sri Lanka ups the death toll tomorrow, can anyone prove it if they just say "oh, now its 70,000 for us". the same thing happened after 9-11, several people were arrested for fraud.
I don't think any of the aid should be based on the death toll. help the living, at least we can honestly identify who is alive and what they need (food, medicine, etc). provide other assistance based on the infrastructure destroyed.
I'm not aware of any model that is allocating flights of aid supplies based on the reported death toll. There are people on the ground in the various locations that know what sort of stuff is needed. Needs are being assessed and supplies are being delivered accordingly, as swiftly as can be done?
What is so gawdawful wrong with that? Does this process need more armchair quarterbacks or not?