200 feared dead as rescue resumes after storm
200 feared dead as rescue resumes after storm
KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (AFP): Up to 200 people, mostly
Indonesians, were feared yesterday to be still entombed in the
slimy debris left by a storm that ripped through Malaysia's Sabah
state, claiming 127 lives, officials said.
As rescuers resumed their third day searching for survivors,
the Sabah state government called for a full report on the
possible causes of the mounting death toll amid allegations that
illegal logging had aggravated the losses.
"Search operations are hampered by the slime and muddy debris
and rescuers have resorted to using wooden poles to gingerly dig
into the heap," said a spokesman at the state police operations
room monitoring the rescue.
Rescue operations are concentrated in the remote district of
Keningau, which bore the brunt of Thursday's tropical storm,
Greg.
Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee has appealed to the local
media to provide wider coverage of weather forecast reports that,
he said, have long been taken for granted.
"The one aspect of the disaster that we should look into is
the early warning system with regard to weather forecast
announcements which many people usually take for granted," Yong
said over the national radio network monitored here.
"The media in concert with the meteorological department ought
to give wide coverage on adverse weather conditions by publishing
early warnings by the department," Yong pleaded.
Relatives, meanwhile, waited anxiously as hopes of finding
their love ones ebbed with the tide.
The weather has since cleared and rivers have receded, police
said.
"They only want to recover the bodies and give them a decent
burial," said one of the rescuers.
Indonesians
The victims were mostly Indonesian migrant workers, who either
drowned, were struck by objects, crushed or buried alive in the
torrent of mud and water when the storm struck 524 houses in the
state's interior.
"We are still unclear how many are still missing, but
according to the Indonesian consulate here, about 200 Indonesians
are still unaccounted for," a police spokesman said.
A mass burial was held late yesterday for 82 Indonesians,
whose bodies were identified among the 127 recovered so far.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Japanese government has announced a
donation of more than 500,000 ringgit (US$200,000) worth of aid
to the Malaysian government for the victims.
Japanese Information Service Director Motokatsu Watanabe said
in a statement 2,250 blankets and 90 tents, costing about 435,000
ringgit would soon be flown to the victims.
"We are making arrangements to fly in the blankets and tents
from Singapore," he said.
Another $100,000 would be spent on food and other essentials
for the flood victims.
The Malaysian National Natural Disaster Relief committee has
provided a grant of 100,000 ringgit to the Sabah government for
emergency relief.
Sabah's Communication and Works Ministry has formed a
task force to assess damage to government property.
Malaysia's meteorological department has come under criticism
for its failure to detect the intensity of the storm.
Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat on Friday blamed
weathermen for failing to predict the intensity of the storm that
he said could have helped to minimize the loss of lives and
property in the disaster.