EARTHQUAKE IN SUMATRA
CAUSES TSUNAMI IN SRI LANKA 1,000 MILES AWAY
ISLAND OF SUMATRA MOVED 100 FEET TO THE SOUTHWEST
INDIA VOLCANO BEGINS TO ERUPT
HUNDREDS OF AFTERSHOCKS
DEATH TOLL 300,000+
1900 AMERICANS MISSING
12-26-04
Revelation 6:12-17
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo there was a great earthquake
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood And
the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs,
when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it
is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places
updated 6-6-05
WHY AREN'T THEY TELLING US THIS IS A SUPERVOLCANO IN THE WORKS?
http://www.huttoncommentaries.com/ECNews/SuperVolc/Krakatau/Krakatau1.htm
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A view of
mount Talang, 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Sumatra's coastal Padang
city. A second Indonesian volcano has sprung into life after a series of
terrifying quakes, intensifying fears that the archipelago's violent
geological forces will unleash a new disaster.(AFP/Sri Rahayu Ningsih) SUMATRA VOLCANO ERUPTS
Thousands flee in panic as Indonesian volcano spews into life
MOUNT TALANG, Indonesia (AFP) - A volcano spewed into life on Indonesia's disaster-blighted Sumatra island, spreading new panic after the recent tsunami and earthquakes and driving thousands from their homes.
Volcano Erupts on Indonesia's Sumatra Island More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from the volcano's slope,
the Antara news agency quoted local official Bustamar saying. It said
the volcano's status had been raised to "beware", one rung
below full-blown eruption.
Vulcanologist Gede Suwantika described Talang's activity as
"serious" saying there was a risk of molten magma and clouds
of super-heated gas that burn everything in their path.
"This is what I worry, that this activity will be followed by a
larger eruption that is magmatic in nature," he said.
"Heat clouds could also descend, and this is what is risky as
they can reach several kilometres" he said.
An AFP photographer at the 2,599 metre (8,680 foot) volcano said a
narrow road leading to the mountain was clogged by people deserting the
area, which was shrouded in thick fog.
The volcano issued another outburst at 11:30 am and another at 6:45
in the evening, accompanied by a loud bang, according to a police
spokesman in Solok, 40 kilometres northeast of the volcano. He said the
situation was calm.
Elfi Sahlan Ben, an official in Solok, told the Detikcom news website
that ash was being carried by winds further down the slopes while strong
gaseous odours were permeating the air around the mountain.
The volcano's activity comes just two days after the city of Padang
was gripped with fear following a powerful 6.7 magnitude quake that
caused only minor damage but revived memories of last year's deadly
Indian Ocean tsunami.
On Monday the city's offices and schools were deserted, with many
people having left the town to seek refuge on higher ground, their
unease fuelled by rumours and scientific reports of another impending
disaster.
A massive earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Sumatra on
March 28, killing more than 600 people on the offshore islands of Nias
and Simeulue -- most of the victims crushed by collapsing concrete
structures.
On December 26 last year, a 9.3-magnitude shockwave from the same
geological faultline unleashed tsunamis that destroyed vast tracts of
coast in Sumatra's westernmost Aceh region and left more then 160,000
dead or missing.
The Indonesian archipelago sits atop a series of faultlines where
three continental plates collide with immense pressure, causing almost
daily earthquakes and frequent eruptions from more than 130 active
volcanoes.
Though inured to seismic activity, thousands of Indonesians,
particularly on Nias and Simeulue, have been spooked by the recent
quakes and rumours of another imminent disaster and have sought refuge
on higher ground.
Last month a prominent seismologist said he could not rule out the
risk of a third big quake off Sumatra, although the exact timing of the
event could not be predicted.
According to Fauzan, a geophysicist with the meteorology and
geophysics agency, Talang's eruption is directly linked to the recent
seismic activity off Sumatra's shores.
"Tectonically speaking, it is true that there are links between
tectonic activities in the Indian Ocean and volcanic activities in
Sumatra," he told AFP.
He said the massive December quake had activated Leuser Mountain, a
volcano in Aceh province along the same range of peaks as Talang, while
the Nias quake had sparked activity in lake Toba, an ancient crater in
Sumatra.
Talang has had at least four major eruptions, all in the 19th
century, and three smaller eruptions in 1981, 2001 and 2003.
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NEW LARGE QUAKE
DEATHS EXPECTED TO BE OVER 2,000
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8.2 upgraded to 8.7
7.2 earthquake hits southern IndiaTemblor rattles Andaman, Nicobar islands;
ET July 25, 2005 -
NEW DELHI, India - A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit India’s southern Nicobar Islands on Sunday, triggering panic in the islands and prompting Thailand to issue a tsunami warning for the region devastated by December’s earthquake and tsunami. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages. 2005/07/24 15:42 M 7.0
NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION Z= 10km 7.93N 92.15E |
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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (March 28, 2005) - A powerful earthquake struck late Monday off Indonesia's west coast, killing nearly 300 people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way. But fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of quake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on Dec. 26. All of the deaths reported in the hours immediately after Monday's quake were on Indonesia's Nias island, off Sumatra's west coast, which was close to the epicenter. In one town, Gunungsitoli, about 70 percent of buildings had collapsed in the market district, officials said. ''Hundreds of buildings have been damaged or have collapsed,'' said Agus Mendrofa, the island's deputy district head. He told el-Shinta radio station that at least 296 people had died in Gunungsitoli. Nias, a renowned surfing spot, was badly hit on Dec. 26, when at least 340 residents were killed and 10,000 were left homeless. The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday's quake at magnitude 8.7 and said its epicenter was 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra island. The quake struck just 110 miles southwest of the 9.0-magnitude temblor of Dec. 26. The earlier quake and the tsunami it triggered killed at least 175,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean nations and left another 106,000 missing. On Monday, panic spread and sirens sounded as authorities issues tsunami alerts for six countries after the quake struck at 11:06 p.m. as many people were sleeping. Women clutching children ran into the darkened streets of Banda Aceh, crying and chanting ''Allahu Akbar,'' or ''God is Great.'' Others grabbed small bags of clothes and fled their tents and homes for higher ground. Another man rushed instead to the local mosque, saying ''Where can I go, you can't outrun a tsunami.'' The quake lasted two minutes and briefly cut electricity. Thousands poured into the streets, where flickering camp-fires and motorbike and car headlights provided the only lighting. People grabbed small bags of clothes as they fled their tents and homes. Many were crying and jumping into cars and onto motorbikes and pedicabs to head for higher ground. Two women wearing prayer shawls and sarongs grabbed a fence to steady themselves. ''People are still traumatized, still scared, they are running for higher ground,'' said Feri, a 24-year-old aid volunteer who goes by one name. Panic gripped at least one relief camp in Banda Aceh. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands fleeing their tents - but with nowhere to go, they milled in crowds along the road. Police with megaphones asked people not to panic and return to their tents. After a while, many started moving back.
In Malaysia, residents fled their shaking apartments and hotels. ''I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking,'' said Jessie Chong, a resident of the largest city, Kuala Lumpur. ''I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbors screaming and running out.'' Preliminary indications were that energy from Monday's quake might be directed toward the southwest, said Frank Gonzalez, an oceanographer with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. The only tsunami reported was a tiny one - 10 inches - at the Cocos Islands, 1,400 miles west of Australia. No damage was reported. ''It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now,'' said Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. ''And if there's no tsunami on the coastline near the epicenter of the quake, there will not be one heading in the other direction.'' Nevertheless, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said U.S. diplomatic missions in Asia and Africa went into ''battle mode'' to respond quickly to any contingency. Authorities worldwide had been slow to recognize the magnitude of the Dec. 26 disaster. Japan's Meteorological Agency reportedly notified six Indian Ocean countries - Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives and Malaysia - about a possible tsunami. Officials said after the December disaster that a tsunami early warning system could have saved many lives. Such a system exists in the Pacific but has not been established in the Indian Ocean. Japan and the United States had planned to start providing tsunami warnings to countries around the Indian Ocean this month as a stopgap measure until the region establishes its own alert system. Two aftershocks - one measuring 6.0 and another measuring 6.7 - were reported in the same region late Monday and early Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was felt as far away as Singapore and the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 435 miles from the epicenter. Warning sirens blared along Sri Lanka's east coast, the government urged people to evacuate immediately to higher ground, and all-night trains traveling along the coast were suspended. The Sri Lankan military was put on full alert and several naval ships were monitoring the coast, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake. Fishermen at sea were warned not to return to shore. President Chandrika Kumaratunga called an emergency meeting at her home with Cabinet members and went on state television to assure the country ''we are taking all precautionary measures.'' On Dec. 26, 2004.the tsunami crashed onto coastlines in Indonesia's Aceh province within 45 minutes of the massive earthquake hitting offshore, but Sri Lanka was hit several hours later after the waves traveled the breadth of the Indian Ocean. In Malaysia, panicked residents of Kuala Lumpur and Penang fled their apartments and hotels after authorities activated fire alarms. Police evacuated low-lying coastal areas of the northern states of Penang and Kedah. At the biggest refugee camp in Banda Aceh, people milled around the streets near the local television network, known as TVRI. Others huddled around television sets in cafes for news. After some time, a voice on the camp intercom announced that people could return to their tents and that there was no tsunami. Television images later showed a man yelling into a megaphone. This time, the man shouted, there was no tsunami. People could go back to their homes. AP-NY-03-28-05 18:21 EST Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news ; |
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AT LEAST 296 KILLED - THOUSANDS STILL MISSING
Major earthquake hits
Indonesia 8.7
2005/03/28 16:09 M 8.7 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA Z= 30km 2.08N 97.01E
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Indonesians Search Smoldering Rubble for Survivors
By CHRIS BRUMMITT, AP
GUNUNG SITOLI, Indonesia (March 29) - Indonesians searched through smoldering rubble for survivors on Nias island Tuesday and relatives wept over the bodies of the dead after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake hammered the region, triggering a tsunami scare and killing at least 330 people. Some officials said the death toll could rise as high as 2,000. U.N. and other relief agencies rushed to ferry aid supplies to the island, which bore the brunt of the quake almost three months to the day after an even bigger temblor nearby sent waves crashing into coastlines around the Indian Ocean's rim, killing at least 174,000 people. Fears of a second tsunami faded Tuesday when seas failed to rise up in the hours after the overnight quake, but at least 13 aftershocks between magnitudes 5.0 and 6.1 kept nervousness high. In Gunung Sitoli, the biggest town on the island of some 600,000 people, an Associated Press reporter saw many residents huddled around candles outside their homes, too fearful to spend the night indoors after the aftershocks that set some buildings swaying. Budi Atmaji Adiputro, a spokesman for Indonesia's Coordinating Agency for National Disaster Relief, said rescuers found 330 bodies in the rubble Tuesday. The toll was expected to rise because more bodies were believed to be trapped in collapsed buildings, he said. Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the el-Shinta radio station in Jakarta that the death toll could rise to 1,000-2,000, based on the amount of destruction to buildings. Other officials said the dead numbered in the hundreds, not thousands. From the air, it appeared that about 30 percent of buildings in Gunung Sitoli were destroyed, and the island's second biggest town, Teluk Dalam, suffered significant damage. An Associated Press Television News cameraman who landed briefly in the city said he saw at least one dead body and about four injured islanders who had yet to receive medical treatment. At least two fires smoldered in Gunung Sitoli. About 1,000 people gathered in a large field in the town. A soccer pitch in the town was turned into a makeshift triage center, with about 10 badly injured survivors - some of them lying on wooden doors - awaiting evacuation by relief agency helicopters. People swarmed around U.N. helicopters as they landed to deliver relief supplies. Elsewhere, a steeple had been knocked off a church on the mainly Christian island. In Jakarta, the SCTV network showed images from the island, including survivors weeping over the sarong-covered bodies of a child and a middle-aged woman. In another image, two men on a motorbike carried what appeared to be a body wrapped in sarongs. In other images, survivors used their bare hands to toss away chunks of rubble from a collapsed building as smoke from fires lingered in the air. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent condolences to the families of the dead and postponed a planned visit Wednesday to Australia, saying he would fly to Nias to assess the damage. He said Indonesia had been offered help from around the world. ''We welcome and highly appreciate it,'' he said. Japan and Australia offered to send troops to Nias to help with the cleanup if Jakarta asks. U.S. officials also promised rapid assistance. ''We're applying what we've learned from the previous earthquake so that we can be prepared to be responsive quickly and in a meaningful way,'' State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Monday. The quake damaged Gunung Sitoli's airstrip and prevented all but small planes from landing. The Indonesian military flew reporters over the island to inspect the damage. Fishing villages dotted along the coastline and inland appeared to be largely unaffected. The International Organization for Migration said it was sending trucks loaded with water, milk and other food items, as well as medical supplies to the Sumatran port town of Sibolga, where they will be ferried to Gunung Sitoli. ''The army and navy are mobilizing to help,'' presidential adviser Tahi Bonar Silalahi said. Alessandra Boas, a member of an Oxfam International team sent to Nias by helicopter, said the aid group was heading further afield by motorcycle. ''The devastation is obvious as soon as you land,'' she said. ''Many of the houses here have collapsed, but it's still too early for us to get a sense of the full scale of this.'' Thousands of residents fled to the island's hills and remained there Tuesday. ''It's difficult to get information - all the government officials have run to the hills because they are afraid of a tsunami,'' presidential envoy T.B. Silalahi said. The earthquake - which occurred along the same tectonic fault line as the massive 9.0-magnitude temblor that caused the Dec. 26 disaster - triggered panic in several Asian countries when governments issued warnings that another set of deadly waves might be about to hit. Coastal residents from Indonesia to Thailand to Sri Lanka fled to higher ground when the alarm was raised, before hearing hours later that no tsunami materialized. In Banda Aceh, the city in Indonesia's Aceh province that was hardest-hit by the tsunami, thousands poured into the streets to flee. ''It was horrible, the only thing on my mind was how to get out of the house immediately and save my 3 1/2-month-old baby girl,'' said 27-year-old Marlina, who only uses one name, like many Indonesians. In Sri Lanka, warning sirens blared along the nation's east coast and President Chandrika Kumaratunga urged people to evacuate. ''It was like reliving the same horror of three months ago,'' said Fatheena Faleel, who fled her home with her three children. By dawn Tuesday, the danger had passed and all tsunami warnings had been withdrawn. On Nias, a police officer who identified himself as Nainggolan told an Indonesian broadcaster that survivors were trying to pull people from the rubble, but more rescuers and medics were sorely needed. In the latest aftershock, a magnitude 5.8 temblor hit off Indonesia's coast at 1:22 p.m. and was centered 217 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, according to Hong Kong seismologists. Dave Jenkins, a New Zealand physician who runs the relief agency SurfAid International in western Sumatra, said he feared for about 10,000 people living on the tiny Banyak Islands, close to the epicenter of Monday's quake. The Dec. 26 disaster also left more than 100,000 missing in 11 countries and rendered 1.5 million homeless. Seismologists said the epicenter of Monday's earthquake was about 75 miles north of Nias. It was felt as far away as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. AP-NY-03-29-05 14:12 EST Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
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12-26-04 - TSUNAMI IN OUR FUTURE?
COMPARE AUSTRALIAN QUAKES TO INDONESIA QUAKES
Magnitude 8.1 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN
SUMATRA
Preliminary Earthquake Report |
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A great earthquake occurred at
00:58:55 (UTC) on Sunday, December 26, 2004. The magnitude 8.1
event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA.
(This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
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RELIEF FOR EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI VICTIMS ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE RESPONSE launched an effort to get
medical supplies, ASIA RELIEF, a Maryland based nonprofit organization, is
accepting donations of nonperishable food items, clothing
and toys for victims of the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Cash
donations are also being accepted. To contribute, drop off
donations anytime at 19409 Olive Tree Way, Gaithersburg, MD,
20879. Contact Seyed Rizwan Mowlana at 301-672-9355 for
more information. CARE Australia teams from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and
Thailand are traveling to affected areas to gauge the impact of
the disaster. Donations can be made through the CARE Australia
website http://www.careaustralia.org.au
or by phoning 1-800-020-046. International Americares: https://www.americares.org/
which has a donation page at: http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp (might be slow to load) and mentioned to specify that you are donating to help
the victims of the South Asian earthquakes and Tsunamis. |
| By LELY T. DJUHARI | Associated
Press Writer Posted December 26, 2004
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The world's most powerful earthquake in 40
years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages
and seaside resorts across Asia on Sunday, killing more than
3,800 people in six countries.
Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water up to 20 feet high that swept across the Bay of Bengal, unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In Sri Lanka, 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 2,150 people were killed, the prime minister's office said. Indian officials said as many as 1,130 died along the southern coast. At least 408 died on Sumatra from floods and collapsing buildings. Another 168 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 28 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh. But officials expected the death toll to rise dramatically, with hundreds reported missing and all communications cut off to Sumatran towns closest to the epicenter. Hundreds of bodies were found on various beaches along India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea, officials said. Copyright © 2004, Orlando Sentinel |
The quake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale jolted sea areas northwest of Indonesia's Sumatra Sunday morning, the most powerful recorded in 40 years.
According to the State Seismological Bureau of China, the epicenter of the quake is 30 kilometers from the coast, approximately 300 kilometers from Medan and 200 kilometers from Banda Aceh.
The death toll of Sunday tidal wave devastation which hit the eastern and southern coasts of Sri Lanka had crossed 1,500 mark bypress time while the death toll reached 454 in Indonesia, more than 1,000 in India, 5 in Malaysia, 100 in Thailand and 1 in Maldives.
In addition to the dead, hundreds of other people were reported missing elsewhere, most of them fishermen at sea, in the region.
Sri Lankan prime minister's office said Sunday that some 1,500 people were killed and 1 million affected as tsunami tidal waves caused by an earthquake off Indonesia smashed into the island.
Massive sea waves crashed into coastal villages over a wide area of Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing more than 1,000 people and displacing 500,000 others, officials and hospital doctors said. The death toll was still rising, they warned.
The tidal waves also hit the neighboring Maldives, where the authorities closed the airport.
Maldives government officials said the waves were as high as one meter, hitting the low-lying capital Male, two-thirds of which was under water.
In Indonesia, some 454 people were killed after the extremely powerful earthquake rocked Aceh province of Indonesia on Sunday morning.
According to Bireun chief of district in Aceh province the figure will increase as they still look for many unidentified deadbodies.
The officials from Biruen and Pidie districts said thousands of people had left their homes to higher areas to avoid further tremor and flood.
Up to now, the quake has already caused some hundreds houses down, electricity cut off and bridges damaged.
In Thailand, some 100 people died and 1,339 were injured in southern Songkhla, Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani provinces, that draw thousands of visitors each year due to their world-famous beaches.
At least 40 tourists died in Phuket island as waves had reachedas high as eight or even 10 meters before crashing into its coast.
Phuket's famous beach town Patong was flooded with all shops, kiosks and hotels damaged by the tsunamis.
On Phang-Nga, another popular tourist site near Phuket, people even sought refuge from the floods on rooftops. The tourists said they were relaxing on the beach when the tsunamis suddenly appeared.
The navy has been airlifting tourists who were stranded at hotels and bungalows near affected beaches to safer areas.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had been visiting the victims of recent earthquake in Nabire district, in Papua province, had ordered authorities to handle the natural disaster and asked some ministers to visit the affected area, the state spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday voiced concern overthe earthquake and tidal waves that hit Andaman and Nicobar islands and the country's east coast, according to Indo-Asian NewsService (IANS).
The navy has been placed on full alert and rescue and relief operations are under way in the worst-hit Andman and Nicobar as well as the coastal areas of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, officials in the prime minister's office (PMO) told media.
Sri Lanka has called for international assistance in the face of the country's worst ever humanitarian disaster.
According to the Sri Lankan president office, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga who was on a private visit to Britain is to cut short her visit and to return to Sri Lanka.
In Malaysia, authorities closed some beaches to the public after 5 people were swept away from beaches near the northern city of Penang. The victims were believed to be mainly tourists and included some foreigners, said a police spokesman.
Tidal
waves slam Thai resort...
400
FISHERMEN FEARED MISSING IN INDIA...
Sri
Lanka south, east tourist region worst-hit'...
TOO
FRIGHTENED TO TALK...
Maldives
damage 'considerable'...
DEADLY
WAVES STRIKE MALAYSIA...
7+
mag temblor jolts Bangladesh...
Aftershocks
rattle eastern India...
SINGAPORE
FEELS TREMORS...
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Jakarta 26 December 2004 |
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| People look at a car and debris that was washed by tidal waves in Madras |
U.S. experts say it is the worst quake in Indonesian history and the fifth strongest since 1900.
The huge temblor, which the United States Geological Survey says measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, hit early Sunday morning in the Indian Ocean - off the west coast of Indonesia's northernmost Sumatra Island.
The earthquake caused a tsunami, or tidal wave, that hit coastal regions as far away the Maldives and including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Thailand. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed displaced.
The full extent of damage and casualties in Indonesia are still not clear. Telephone communications between Jakarta and the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra have been cut.
Andi Mallararengeng, spokesman for Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, says details of the disaster are still coming in.
"We got a report that number of victims, eight, nine, more than 20 on different cities in Aceh, like Lhokseumawe, Banda Aceh, Meulahbo, so we don't have complete information yet because the chain of information at localities in Aceh are being damaged. So we are waiting for more accurate information," he said.
President Yudhoyono has instructed civil and military authorities in Aceh to do everything in their power to rescue survivors and help families of the dead.
Aceh has suffered for years from a separatist rebellion and is currently ruled under emergency regulations. The spokesman says that the tens of thousands of troops in the province would be used to assist the victims.
Indonesia sits on the so-called "ring of fire," a highly active seismic band where plates of the earth's crust collide.
LHOKSEUMAWE: Tidal waves swamped Indonesian
towns near the epicentre of the massive undersea earthquake, killing at
least 720 people and leaving scenes of devastation as the waters
receded. The Indonesian Government struggled to respond to the disaster in
Aceh, which has for years been torn by separatist violence.
"We still don't know what's happening there because of a lack of
communication," Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said.
"We're sending our two top ministers to Aceh right now. We're
also preparing food supplies, medicines and makeshift shelters as
emergency back-up."
Thousands of people abandoned their homes and headed for higher
ground after the earthquake, centred 40km below the seabed, sent waves
surging inland about 8am. At least one Indonesian coastal village,
Lancuk, was almost destroyed. An Associated Press reporter in the
village saw several bodies wedged in trees.
"Waves as high as two or three metres suddenly rose up in the
sea," said a fisherman named Marzuki.
"The water has destroyed dozens of houses."
First Sergeant Suwarno, a police spokesman for the North Aceh region,
said there were 378 dead in his district.
"The search is continuing and it is believed there are still
more than 100 others killed, as many people are still missing,"
Sergeant Suwarno said.
Fadli Hanafiah, director of the Cut Mutia hospital in Lhokseumawe,
said 83 fatalities had been confirmed, including many young children.
"Bodies continue to arrive from various areas," Dr Fadli
said last night.
An officer in East Aceh district said 29 people were found dead in
his area.
Earlier tolls from local officials in the Aceh district of Bireuen
confirmed 95 dead, while in the neighbouring province of North Sumatra,
the toll was put at 54.
"More deaths are possible," said Bireun district official
Mustofa Glanggang, who said dozens more were missing.
"People are too afraid to go home. They are gathering in open
places and hospitals."
Lieutenant Colonel Ali Taruna Jaya told the Metro TV station that 165
people had been killed by floods in neighbouring Pidie district.
On Nias, a sparsely populated island off Aceh's western coast, at
least 42 people died in floods, police said.
In Aceh's provincial capital of Banda Aceh, nine people were swept
away by giant waves, a witness told Indonesian radio.
More than 500km to the southeast of Banda Aceh, four fishermen
drowned when high waves hit their boat in a river close to the coastal
town of Deli Serdang, said police sergeant Ginting.
AP, AFP
Most of the dead were in the province of Aceh, on the northern tip of
Sumatra. Communications were down in coastal towns on the west coast of
the island, raising fears further death and damage would be reported.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
(12-26) 07:06 PST JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) --
The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across southern and southeast Asia on Sunday, killing more than 7,000 people in six countries.
Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water up to 20 feet high that swept across the Bay of Bengal,
