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.
Well stated.
So sorry about your situation. Prayers for your friends in Phuket. They may turn up yet, please don't lose hope.
Singapore is beautiful, must be a wonderful place to live.
Here's a picture of a kitty contemplating leftovers, instead of a bunny with a pancake on it's head.
;-)
Very well said, once in a while someone will hit a home run around here, to me you did.
He got blowed up!
Sheesh the burial detail is getting tired today, so many trolls so little time. LOL
Thanks Meek
Blarney castle docents chuckle in the local, after work, about pissing on the Blarney tone after tourist hours. So yeah... I wouldn't kiss it either, but not because others had kissed it!
>>>>>charybdis bye bye.......you added nothing to our forum but your stupidity.
This one's not even worth the time to dig a hole!!
We'll let him rot.
Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000
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".
Yikes! :^D
watsonfellow, we have prayed ceaselessly since Sunday for those lost, and for the survivors, and their families and friends. God bless you every one.
I'm worry that it may reach one million. This is one huge mess. These governments don't even know how much citizens they have.
I located the original image here.
It is even more horrendous close up.
It is image D under Aceh:
http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/tsunami.html
Whoops! That should be:Yikes! :^O
I don't see why the trolls are so attracted to the site.
The map you posted in #222 is the 'bad one' for showning Nicobar/Andaman Islands so close to Sri Lanka/India. The Islands are MUCH closer to Burma/Sumatra than they are to Sri Lanka... say 2500km from Thailand and 5 or 6000km from Sri Lanka. Don't quote me as to accuracy of above - that's eyeball approximation from my National Geographic map.
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