Asia-Pacific

Tragic day as Indonesia suffers nature's wrath

By Sunanda Creagh and Telly Nathalia (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-27 06:56
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More than 100 dead and 500 missing after quake, tsunami and eruption

JAKARTA - Indonesia suffered combined catastrophes of earthquake, tsunami and volcanic eruption over a 24-hour period, claiming more than 100 lives with hundreds more missing.

A tsunami that pounded remote islands in western Indonesia following an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra killed more than 100 people, officials said on Tuesday, and more than 500 are missing.

Tragic day as Indonesia suffers nature's wrath
Villagers from the slopes of Mount Merapi gather at a temporary shelter in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday after the country's most volatile volcano spewed ash and rocks into the sky. [Photo/Agencies]

Adding to the chaos, Indonesia's most volatile volcano started erupting on Tuesday after scientists warned that pressure building beneath its dome could trigger the most powerful eruption in years. Up to 20 people were injured by hot ash spewed from Mount Merapi, the Associated Press reported. A 3-month-old baby died of breathing difficulties, a doctor told local television,

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Thousands of residents on the slopes have been evacuated.

The 7.5 magnitude quake hit 78 kilometers west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, late on Monday.

Local legislator Hendri Dori Satoko told Metro TV the latest toll was 108 dead and 502 missing.

Most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga were destroyed, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries.

"Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found," he told Reuters. The majority of the missing 160 are mostly women and children, he added. Tragic day as Indonesia suffers nature's wrath

"We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold onto their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying."

Hardimansyah, who has only one name, said 80 percent of the houses in the area were damaged and food supplies were low.

A tourist boat believed to be carrying up to 10 Australians has been out of radio contact since the quake, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.

The Macaronis surfing resort on North Pagai island was also hit. In an official press release, tour company World Surfaris said the resort had "experienced a level of devastation that has rendered it inoperable".

Reports via Facebook from a surfer at the resort suggested that all the villas had been "wiped out" by the tsunami.

A report posted on the Surfaid website by one of the aid organization's staff members described a 3-meter-high tsunami sweeping through the resort causing boats to crash into each other before bursting into flames. Tragic day as Indonesia suffers nature's wrath

"There was a lot of debris floating in the water, including barstools and other pieces of furniture from Macaronis Resort," he said.

On South Pagai island, waves penetrated about 600 meters into coastal villages, said Mudjiarto, the head of the disaster response unit at the Health Ministry.

In December 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake of more than 9 magnitude off Sumatra killed more than 226,000 people.

It was the deadliest tsunami on record.

Zhang Jing and Wang Di contributed to this story.

Reuters

No Chinese Casualties Reported in Quake

The Chinese embassy in Indonesia has not received any reports of Chinese casualties in the earthquake, which took place near the Mentawai islands, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday evening on its website.

Chen Jianqiu, head of the overseas office of China International Travel Service, said that as far as he knew, few Chinese tour groups travel to the Mentawai islands.

"None of our tour groups has been affected by the earthquake," he said.

China Southern Airlines and Cathay Pacific confirmed that flights to Jakarta are running as scheduled on Wednesday.

China Daily