Posted on 12/30/2004 10:01:15 AM PST by Keith Burwell
Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000 Thu Dec 30 2004 12:52:01 ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.
He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".
He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Acheh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.
"Aerial surveillance found the town of Meulaboh completely destroyed with only one buiding standing. The building, which belonged to the military, happens to be on a hill," he told reporters after receiving RM1 million in aid for Indonesia's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund here Thursday.
Rusdihardjo said there were about 150,000 residents in Meulaboh, which was located 150km from the epicentre of the earthquake while Pulau Simeuleu had a population of 76,000.
The contributions were from several corporate giants.
Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), represented by Chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, gave RM200,000; Guthrie, represented by Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Wahab Maskan, gave RM200,000; Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, represented by Group Director for Corporate, Legal and Public Affairs Norlin Abdul Samad, gave RM200,000; Maybank, represented by Head of Public Affairs Wan Norhiyati Ibrahim, gave RM200,000 and Sime Darby Group's Motor Division, represented by Director Yip Jon Khiam, also gave RM200,000.
Ahmad Sarji also handed over a PNB contribution to Utusan's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund, which was received by Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Executive Chairman Tan Sri Hashim Makarudin to help Malaysian tsunami victims.
Ambassador Rusdihardjo said a combination of earthquake and tsunami had left 80 to 100 per cent of infrastructure in Acheh province, such as hospitals, health centres, transport and communication networks and homes, destroyed.
"Looking at the scale of destruction, it's difficult to say when the search and rescue operations can be mounted in all affected areas," he said.
He said rescue efforts were hampered by transportation difficulties and lack of fuel.
Rusdihardjo said that at this time international help, especially in the form of medicines, clean water, food and clothing, were desperately needed by Indonesia to aid survivors in Acheh.
"Now we are worried about the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, the work of disposing corpses and the absence of clean water following the contamination of water sources," he said.
Now that I know that these were the people dancing in the streets ...they get nothing else from me except in the tax money they made Bush give them.
Like wise.
Have a safe New Years.
Hey there,
I am fully aware that this catastrophic event is a terrrible event in world history, regardless of who was killed. There was a post that I saw and agreed with because those people have been known to harbor negative sentiments towards the USA. Now I do not believe that they all should die b/c of that, but it does make one rethink the level of empathy that they should have. That's it.
Sorry, my halo must of fell off.
:-(
This natural disaster is the truest definition of a CASTROPHE in MY lifetime.
It is at times like this that the PEACE Corp is really needed.
It is so very very sad that these once happy but poor (in comparison to many people around the world) people are now going to be miserable and devastated for many months (if not years) to come.
I send my prayers to all who feel this pain.
Result of 30 seconds on Google for "Kuwait" and "Tsunami"
"The death toll has been rapidly and continuously climbing since the deadly waves swept the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean countries.The first batch of supplies provided by Kuwait arrived in Sri Lanka by air, earlier today. The cargo comprised 20 tons of basic materials.The society announced, earlier today, that it was setting up an air bridge with Sri Lanka and the Maldives to send the necessary supplies to the victims.On Tuesday, the Kuwaiti Cabinet allotted an additional sum of $1 million for aid for the southeast Asian countries affected with the tsunami. The sum was earmarked for the society to dispatch relief supplies. This came after another donation of $1 million was approved by the cabinet Sunday."
Sri Lanka is only 7% Moslem and the Kuwaitis are already sending supplies there.
Also a Mosque is a dome structure. Domes are the strongest shaped building there is and are the most resistant to natural disasters.
I never stated that I was morally superior to anyone.
I actually was sort of surprised when I saw (what was left of) Banda Aceh....it's actually a pretty substantial city, no skyscrapers but substantial buildings, lots of cars, etc.
Obviously as you go down the coast you get a lot of thatched roof villages and whatnot but the whole area might not be quite as uniformly primitive as is imagined.
In my touchy-feely estimates, I think of the worst case scenario and then double it. So worst case here, 200,000. It has occurred to me that these numbers are being inflated to get more aid. Callous as some my think that is.
You did not read my post... or maybe just don't understand what I said...
Gotcha. Happy New Year.
I didn't know a country could jump, but ok.
I said natural disasters.. what they did was not natural.
Right back at you.
Ohh different islands have different mixes...for example on Sulawesi it is about 1/2 Muslim and 1/2 Christian ...Muslims are always busy burning down the churches and killing Christians when they can.
Whereas Bali (sight of a HUGE attack) seemed to me about 90 % Buddhists...but the remaining 10% was Muslim...Christians were most likely just the tourists.
It is known on certain of the islands Bali for example is VERY tourist friendly whereas on other islands we were told while traveling by bus, not to stare out windows and not to draw attention to ourselves...some areas you BETTER have your arms covered by a sarong as well as your head and men better not be caught in shorts places like Bali...Indonesia is a HUGE collection of islands some that basically are inhabited by jungle natives like on Irian Jaya...
I hate to sound flip, but I can't help finally commenting that if these estimated death tolls keep rising at this rate, we will eventually come to the realization that all human life on earth was snuffed out by this tsunami...
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