Tsunami sweeps Sumatra
Tsunami sweeps Sumatra
The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Jayapura/Medan
The morning after Christmas brought tragedy to Aceh and North
Sumatra, as well as to Asian countries bordering the Indian
Ocean, when a devastating earthquake wreaked havoc with massive
tsunamis that swept through towns, villages and resort areas.
Latest figures estimated a death toll of about 4,000 in
Indonesia alone, but the final local toll is expected to be much
higher, as the search continues for victims across affected towns
in the two provinces.
The quake that hit Aceh at 7:58 a.m. was centered some 20
kilometers below the seabed and around 149 kilometers south of
Meulaboh, Aceh, and triggered massive tidal waves that slammed
into coastlines across Asia.
The quake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale as reported by
the U.S. Geological Survey -- 6.8 according to the national
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency -- is Indonesia's worst natural
disaster after the 1883 eruption of Mt Krakatau, which killed
36,000 people in the country.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately declared a
national disaster and alerted the military and police to prepare
for an "emergency response" to assist victims. He also expressed
his deepest condolences to bereaved families at home and abroad.
Susilo made the decision on Sunday night after a limited
Cabinet meeting, including the senior welfare minister, in
Jayapura, Papua, where he had celebrated Christmas with locals.
He thanked other countries, particularly Hong Kong and
Malaysia, for their immediate plans to extend relief to Indonesia
over the quake, and appealed to the people to embrace "national
solidarity" in providing aid to the victims.
Separately, National Christmas Committee chairwoman and
Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu has pledged Rp 500 million
(US$55,555) to victims in Aceh and North Sumatra.
The Minister of Health has put the death toll for the two
provinces at 4,185, and said the worst affected area was Banda
Aceh, the capital of Aceh, where 3,000 had been killed.
It did not specify whether the earthquake or ensuing tsunamis
had caused the most damage.
Hundreds of houses inland had been swept away by the force of
five-meter tidal waves across Aceh. Power and telecommunication
lines to Banda Aceh were down virtually all day Sunday, and
transportation is similarly affected, with bridges destroyed or
severely damaged.
First Sgt. Suwarno, North Aceh Police spokesman, said 378
people had been killed in the area.
"The search is continuing and it is believed that there are
more than 100 other fatalities, as many people are still
missing," he told AFP.
Doctor Fadli Hanafiah, director of Cut Mutia Hospital in
Lhokseumawe, said it had received 83 bodies so far. "Bodies
continue to arrive from various areas," he said.
In East Aceh regency, a police officer reported 29 people were
found dead, while AP quoted Bireuen Mayor Mustofa Glanggang as
confirming 98 dead, mostly on the beach, with dozens more
missing.
From Pidie regency, Lt. Col. Ali Taruna Jaya reported 165
people killed by floodwaters, and local police said more than 200
inmates fled when a tsunami knocked down a prison's walls.
In North Sumatra, officials put the death toll at 59, with the
most fatalities recorded in Nias, a sparsely populated island
popular with foreign surfers.
No immediate reports were available on the nationalities of
the victims, and dozens more are said to be missing in Nias.
Floods were reported across the affected coastal towns in Aceh
and North Sumatra, and the disaster has forced authorities to
close Iskandar Muda Airport in Banda Aceh.
"Our control tower and communication system are damaged, and
the runway is submerged. The airport has been closed since 9 a.m.
until further notice," airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II
secretary Kasmin Kamil was quoted by Antara as saying.