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.