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.
It's pretty disgusting to see those people wearing OBL shirts and taking aid from us. But, just how much aid will the people on the ground get and how much will the terrorists get?
Are there more ?
Well, yeah, of course. Exploitation takes time to set up.
I join in prayer for all of you and those you love and are missing!
Nailed that one nicely, thank you. As an Australian, the Aceh situation always made me very very nervous. As 'they' say, 'tis an ill wind indeed that brings no one any good'. The natives in Papua also want to live and they are Christians, targets for islamic fundamentalists who consider them 'children of the devil' because they wear few clothes, dance and sing.
Perhaps while Indonesia has bigger problems to take care of, the Papuans can have some peace. The indigenous people of Papua don't deserve to die simply because they wear penis gourds and feathers in their hair...and sing Christian songs in pidgin english.
Thanks for the ping!
That's the point. We will give these people our help and our prayers. Because we are a good people. And we are good because the majority of Americans believe in being Christlike. Don't take my comments as those coming from a religious fanatic. What I meant in my original post is that because this country was founded the way it was we see the right and wrong of things. If we didn't imagine what we could do with the power and technolgy we have controlled for so long.
Thank you.
That's who we gave to. According to their website, and according to an acquaintance of mine in Malaysia, Salvation Army is deeply involved in the relief effort.
I read this article earlier..Drudge changed the title.
I used to think muslims were just pissed off at everyone because they lived in that sweaty armpit of the world, the Middle-East.
But it appears that even when they live on an island paradise, they still have their turbans in a twist.
I guess...it must be the religion? ;^)
That 400,000 figure is going to be LOW. "
Well, ANYTHING's possible when everything is factored in, but I interpreted the 400k number to be deaths from the flooding alone.
mind-boggling.
Hmm, didnt hear it anywhere else. Why could that be?
Here's strange Google:
Results 1 - 10 of about 666,000 for Worst disasters. (0.24 seconds).
It shows up 666,000 hits for "WORST Disasters" That is wild, weird stuff.
The satellite pics are pretty persuasive, I guess.
I think the problem with my theory is that it assumes the government tilt toward higher initial casualties. For every country except Indonesia, I believe this is the case. For Indonesia, however, I think there country is closed enough and paranoid enough that they may try to cover up some of the damage (although the pressure behind the relief effort may blunt this).
Kinda like disasters in the Soviet Union were the opposite of this proxy. You had to multiply the death figures by 10.
The oil- and gas-rich region of Aceh is located on the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. Aceh has a population of 4.3 million and has historically been staunchly Islamic. On 1 January 2002, as part of a wide-ranging autonomy package that the Indonesian government hoped would appease separatists, Aceh was granted the right to adopt Islamic law.
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