Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Indonesia
Encyclopedia
Indonesia
was seriously affected by the earthquake
and tsunami
created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
on 26 December 2004, swamping the northern and western coastal areas of Sumatra
, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra. Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh
.
According to the country's National Disaster Relief Coordination Agency, 126,915 people are dead and 37,063 are missing In addition, the UN estimates that 655,000 people are homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province.
As of January 23, 2005 the Health Ministry reported 173,981 dead while the Social Affairs Ministry registered 114,978 rapped. On 25 January Health Minister Fadilah Supari updated the estimated death total to 220,000. The death toll is now (2011) estimated at 225,000 that died in the tsunami.
Northern Sumatra took damage from the earthquake itself as a tsunami landed on it. However, most of the damage was the result of the tsunami that struck the coastal regions of the Aceh
and to a much lesser extent the North Sumatra
provinces. The west coast of Aceh was about 100 km
(60 mi) from the epicentre and took very heavy damage as far south as Tapaktuan
. Ten meter tall waves passed the northern tip of the island to race south down the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast as far east as Lhokseumawe
.
Reports from those that have flown over the Aceh coast have reported a virtually destroyed coastline. In many towns and villages concrete pads are all that is left of substantial structures, while scattered corrugated iron roofs crumpled like paper are the only evidence of flimsier houses. A few intact mosques rise amazingly from wasteland. "You can't really explain. There used to be towns and cities there. All the people once had homes, lives," said Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Wickland from the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln
. "Now there is nothing."
Relief efforts and communication along the western coastline are complicated, because the one road along the coast has been disrupted due to the destruction of dozens of bridges and much of the road being washed away or blocked by mud. The western districts of Aceh, lying nearest the epicentre of the magnitude-9 earthquake that caused the tsunami, is a "roadless" area, according to UN Emergency Coordinator Jan Egeland. "The lack of access by road is a key problem aid agencies face in the northern and western parts of Aceh," Chris Lom, a spokesman in the region for the International Organisation for Migration, said on 7 January. A number of towns on the west coast are therefore cut off from road from any airport or port. Relief efforts therefore require the use of helicopter or boat. In the town of Meulaboh in Aceh, for instance, where thousands are waiting for aid, 99 percent of the bridges are gone and 60 percent of asphalt roads are awash with mud according to Lom. "An escalation in the number of deaths is almost a certainty," according to William Hyde, Jakarta-based emergency relief coordinator for the International Organisation of Migration. "So much of the coastline couldn't be accessed."
Government officials in Indonesia, acknowledge they have been forced to make crude estimates of the death toll, because the scale of the devastation and the breakdown of civil governance. They have been forced to use such measures as counting the number of bodies in one mass grave and multiplying that by the number of such plots. In other cases, they estimated the population of a village, counted the survivors and assumed the rest are dead. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_as/tsunami) The scale of the breakdown of civil governance is shown by the fact that after a week 1400 policemen are missing in Aceh, having not reported in. The entire provincial government of Aceh, which had its capital at Banda Aceh has reportedly been wiped out by the deaths of the provincial legislators, and many government workers.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described the devastation in the Indonesian province of Aceh is the worst he has ever seen, after touring the region by helicopter on Friday 7 January.
Over one thousand bodies found on the streets on the provincial capital of Banda Aceh
were placed in mass graves without waiting for identification as officials quickly try to keep the sanitation situation from worsening.
-- sometimes spelt "Leupueng", is a town in the district (Kabupaten/Kota
) of Aceh Besar
, close to the city of Banda Aceh
, the capital of the special territory of Aceh
. The town has been completely obliterated by the tsunami
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. Media reports state that the tsunami was directed by seaside limestone cliffs towards the town of Leupung, which had a population of ten thousand. According to reports nothing vertical and square-edged is left, and the estimated number of survivors is between two and seven hundred.
(SatPixs) is a village in the district (Kabupaten/Kota) of Aceh Besar
just to the southwest of Banda Aceh
. It was completely destroyed by tsunami
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
.
, a town in the West Aceh Regency district of the special territory of Aceh
on the island of Sumatra
in Indonesia
, with a population of about 18,000, was reported to been damaged so severely that it "vanished completely leaving only scattered shards of concrete" as a result of the tsunami
produced by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. Officials estimate 8000 of the 18000 population are dead.
was badly hit by the tsunami. It was the district capital, but little now remains. Only about 30 percent of the townspeople have survived. Estimates of the population of Calang largely fall between 9,000 and 12,000. The trail of destruction left by the tsunami
extends two kilometers inland from the coast. Whole hills have been washed away.
Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab
is quoted as saying that it is likely the town of Calang, north of Meulaboh
, will be relocated inland.
, which had a population of 120,000 before the tsunami, was struck by a series of seven waves, killing an estimated 40,000 and destroying most parts of the city, according to relief organisers and local government officials. Approximately 50,000 people lost their homes in the region, local government workers seem to be overwhelmed and there is little sign of coordination with regional authorities. About 5000 have taken refuge at Meulaboh College but conditions there are getting steadily worse. An Indonesian navy ship bringing aid supplies to Meulaboh was forced to turn away after it was unable to dock because the port facilities were destroyed. The small airport nearby has been reopened and small aircraft can now land there.
and Nias
, among the poorest areas in Indonesia. However, casualties seem to be comparatively light in comparison to the mainland of Aceh
.
was not the tragedy many government officials feared despite its proximity to the quake epicentre. Only five of the 70,000 villagers on Simeulue were killed, all of them in the earthquake that struck at 7.55am last Sunday. Although 90% of the buildings along its coast have been destroyed, nobody perished in the five-metre-high walls of water that followed. Local traditions seem to have saved them. Mayor Darmili said villagers on the island were used to earthquakes and tsunamis. A big earthquake last struck in 2002. "Thousands of our people were killed by a tsunami in 1907 and we have many earthquakes here," he said. "Our ancestors have a saying - if there is an earthquake run for your life."
island official accounts gave the number of dead at 122 via the Ministry of Health, while various unconfirmed sources (mostly from phone calls by relatives living in Jakarta
) report death tolls of over 600; others say the number is more likely to go well over 1000. Reports have surfaced that the small islets off the coast of Nias island in the Sirombu district are still relatively intact, but high waves still prevent locals from attempting to reach the islands. Confirmation and communications to the islands are further hampered by damage to telecommunication infrastructures, where phone lines are broken and radio networks have been said to be down due to bad weather. This infrastructure damage has severely hampered the distribution of aid.
Later another big earthquake hit Nias island.
of the separatist Free Aceh Movement
and the Indonesian military crackdown which means that there were relatively few journalists, government offices, or aid workers in northern Sumatra prior to the earthquake. On 27 December the government lifted the 18-month-old ban prohibiting foreign journalists and aid workers from travelling to Aceh. Also on 27 December a spokesperson for the Free Aceh Movement declared a ceasefire so humanitarian aid could reach survivors, and so as not to complicate the already devastating situation, however some have expressed doubt that there will be good-faith cooperation between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian military. Despite losing many soldiers to the tsunami, the military retains a massive presence in the region.
On 6 January the Indonesian military reported that soldiers had been attacked while on humanitarian missions. The insurgents in turn claim that the Indonesian military is taking advantage of the situation. If the clashes continue, it would pose a problem for humanitarian organisations operating outside of the cities near rebel strongholds. Travel restrictions may be put on foreigners again if the conflict restarts. U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell
has warned Indonesia not to use any of the military aid being provided for relief efforts for counterinsurgency efforts.
Although Indonesia was the first and worst hit of countries in the region, it was the last to begin receiving relief aid. Two large aftershocks on Wednesday caused many residents, traumatised by their experience, to flee from the coast. Looting of food was reported throughout this northmost province of Sumatra
as aid has proved slow to arrive.
Fifteen thousand troops, who were in the region to fight the insurgency
, were dispatched to render assistance and to search for survivors. However, many soldiers and their families were themselves killed. Three days of national mourning were declared. The Indonesian government declared the local provincial Acehnese government as totally crippled (many local politicians based in Banda Aceh were killed when the tsunami struck the city) and declared that all administrative control would be handled directly from Jakarta.
The unmanageably high number of corpses strewn all over the cities and countrysides, limited resources and time for identifying bodies, and the very real threat of cholera
, diphtheria
and other diseases prompted emergency workers to create makeshift mass graves. One of the most urgently required supplies were body bags.
There were significant bottlenecks created by lack of infrastructure and red tape
. The United Nation's Children's Fund reported on Thursday that aid for 200,000 people, including medical supplies, soap and tarpaulin
, was being held at Jakarta
for a day to clear customs
. The US consul in Medan in southern Sumatra reported that aid there was piling up at the airports of Medan and Banda Aceh because there were not enough trucks to transport it. 11 days after the disaster and few foreign relief workers or supplies have reached the local people in local centres such as Meulaboh, Aceh.
In the immediate aftermath, one of the most pressing concerns was the inability to distribute sufficient aid due to a lack of accessible roads and a shortage of available helicopters. What little aid has reached the remote regions of Aceh
province is trickling in primarily by boat and air.
While the airfield outside Banda Aceh was functioning, most of the other small gravel airfields were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. In the first days only two airfields were functioning in the province. As most of the few roads in the region were on the coast because of the rugged interior, much of the transport infrastructure
was damaged or destroyed. Helicopter
s and Indonesian navy ships off the coast supplied a small amount of aid.
At 2.30 am on 4 January 2005 at Banda Aceh
airport a heavy cargo plane as it landed hit a water buffalo which had strayed onto the runway. The left side of the plane's undercarriage
collapsed, making the plane un-movable blocking the runway for a big part of that day, except for helicopter
s, until some specialists came from Singapore
to put a temporary support under that part of the plane, and men moved the plane off the runway.
Four planes carrying aid were sent by Australia and one from the US carrying an evaluation team. An Australian ship carrying helicopters set sail, but did not reach Sumatra until 14 January 2005. A US Navy
aircraft carrier battle group
centred on USS Abraham Lincoln
, dispatched to assist Aceh, began ferrying small amounts of supplies to the remnants of small coastal communities. The US relief operation is based at the Thai base of Utapao.
In Aceh some elephants from a wildlife park
were used to move debris. (Elephants were also used in Thailand).
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
was seriously affected by the earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
on 26 December 2004, swamping the northern and western coastal areas of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra. Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
.
According to the country's National Disaster Relief Coordination Agency, 126,915 people are dead and 37,063 are missing In addition, the UN estimates that 655,000 people are homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province.
As of January 23, 2005 the Health Ministry reported 173,981 dead while the Social Affairs Ministry registered 114,978 rapped. On 25 January Health Minister Fadilah Supari updated the estimated death total to 220,000. The death toll is now (2011) estimated at 225,000 that died in the tsunami.
Aftermath
For a map of the affected areas in sumatra see this BBC map.Northern Sumatra took damage from the earthquake itself as a tsunami landed on it. However, most of the damage was the result of the tsunami that struck the coastal regions of the Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
and to a much lesser extent the North Sumatra
North Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...
provinces. The west coast of Aceh was about 100 km
1 E5 m
A length of 100 kilometers , as a rough amount, is relatively common in measurements on Earth and for some astronomical objects.It is the altitude at which the FAI defines spaceflight to begin....
(60 mi) from the epicentre and took very heavy damage as far south as Tapaktuan
Tapaktuan
Tapaktuan is a town in the southwest of Aceh province. The city is the capital of South Aceh Regency.-Further reading:...
. Ten meter tall waves passed the northern tip of the island to race south down the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast as far east as Lhokseumawe
Lhokseumawe
Lhokseumawe is the second largest city in Aceh province, Indonesia. It faces the Malacca Strait, and is surrounded by North Aceh Regency . The city covers an area of 212 square kilometres. According to the 2000 census Lhokseumawe had a population of 188,974 people...
.
Reports from those that have flown over the Aceh coast have reported a virtually destroyed coastline. In many towns and villages concrete pads are all that is left of substantial structures, while scattered corrugated iron roofs crumpled like paper are the only evidence of flimsier houses. A few intact mosques rise amazingly from wasteland. "You can't really explain. There used to be towns and cities there. All the people once had homes, lives," said Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Wickland from the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
USS Abraham Lincoln , is the fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after former president Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is Everett, Washington.-Construction:...
. "Now there is nothing."
Relief efforts and communication along the western coastline are complicated, because the one road along the coast has been disrupted due to the destruction of dozens of bridges and much of the road being washed away or blocked by mud. The western districts of Aceh, lying nearest the epicentre of the magnitude-9 earthquake that caused the tsunami, is a "roadless" area, according to UN Emergency Coordinator Jan Egeland. "The lack of access by road is a key problem aid agencies face in the northern and western parts of Aceh," Chris Lom, a spokesman in the region for the International Organisation for Migration, said on 7 January. A number of towns on the west coast are therefore cut off from road from any airport or port. Relief efforts therefore require the use of helicopter or boat. In the town of Meulaboh in Aceh, for instance, where thousands are waiting for aid, 99 percent of the bridges are gone and 60 percent of asphalt roads are awash with mud according to Lom. "An escalation in the number of deaths is almost a certainty," according to William Hyde, Jakarta-based emergency relief coordinator for the International Organisation of Migration. "So much of the coastline couldn't be accessed."
Government officials in Indonesia, acknowledge they have been forced to make crude estimates of the death toll, because the scale of the devastation and the breakdown of civil governance. They have been forced to use such measures as counting the number of bodies in one mass grave and multiplying that by the number of such plots. In other cases, they estimated the population of a village, counted the survivors and assumed the rest are dead. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_as/tsunami) The scale of the breakdown of civil governance is shown by the fact that after a week 1400 policemen are missing in Aceh, having not reported in. The entire provincial government of Aceh, which had its capital at Banda Aceh has reportedly been wiped out by the deaths of the provincial legislators, and many government workers.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described the devastation in the Indonesian province of Aceh is the worst he has ever seen, after touring the region by helicopter on Friday 7 January.
Banda Aceh
More than 31,000 people have been confirmed killed in the capital of Banda Aceh alone, the government has announced.Over one thousand bodies found on the streets on the provincial capital of Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
were placed in mass graves without waiting for identification as officials quickly try to keep the sanitation situation from worsening.
Leupung
LeupungLeupung
Leupung -- also spelled "Leupueng", is a town in the district of Aceh Besar, close to the city of Banda Aceh, the capital of the special territory of Aceh, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra. Leupung is located at 5'31" North latitude and 95'15" East longitude at an elevation of 33 m...
-- sometimes spelt "Leupueng", is a town in the district (Kabupaten/Kota
Kota district
Kota District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Kota is the administrative headquarters of the district.During the period around 12th century AD, Rao Deva,a Hada Chieftain conquered the territory and founded Bundi and Hadoti...
) of Aceh Besar
Aceh Besar
Aceh Besar Regency is a regency of Aceh province, Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 2686 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 225,948 people. The regency is located at the northwest tip of Sumatra island and it covers an area including the provincial...
, close to the city of Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
, the capital of the special territory of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
. The town has been completely obliterated by the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. Media reports state that the tsunami was directed by seaside limestone cliffs towards the town of Leupung, which had a population of ten thousand. According to reports nothing vertical and square-edged is left, and the estimated number of survivors is between two and seven hundred.
Gleebruk
GleebrukGleebruk
Gleebruk is a village in the district of Aceh Besar just to the southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of the special territory of Aceh on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was completely destroyed by the tsunamis resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.-External links:*...
(SatPixs) is a village in the district (Kabupaten/Kota) of Aceh Besar
Aceh Besar
Aceh Besar Regency is a regency of Aceh province, Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 2686 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 225,948 people. The regency is located at the northwest tip of Sumatra island and it covers an area including the provincial...
just to the southwest of Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
. It was completely destroyed by tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.
Teunom
TeunomTeunom
Teunom, a town in the West Aceh Regency of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, with a population of about 12,000, was reported to have "vanished completely leaving only scattered shards of concrete" as a result of the tsunami produced by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.U.S...
, a town in the West Aceh Regency district of the special territory of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
on the island of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, with a population of about 18,000, was reported to been damaged so severely that it "vanished completely leaving only scattered shards of concrete" as a result of the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
produced by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. Officials estimate 8000 of the 18000 population are dead.
Calang
CalangCalang
Calang, the capital of the Aceh Jaya Regency of the special territory of Aceh was on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It had a population of about 12,000 though it was reported to have "vanished completely leaving only scattered shards of concrete" as a result of the tsunami produced by the 2004...
was badly hit by the tsunami. It was the district capital, but little now remains. Only about 30 percent of the townspeople have survived. Estimates of the population of Calang largely fall between 9,000 and 12,000. The trail of destruction left by the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
extends two kilometers inland from the coast. Whole hills have been washed away.
Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab
Alwi Shihab
Alwi Abdurrahman Shihab is one of the leading authorities and scholars on the interaction of Christian and Muslim communities. Currently he is the Indonesian President's special envoy to Middle-East and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation...
is quoted as saying that it is likely the town of Calang, north of Meulaboh
Meulaboh
Meulaboh is the capital of West Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Meulaboh is among the hardest hit areas by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Being just 150 km from the epicenter of the earthquake, Meulaboh was hit by tsunami, leaving the estimated deaths of 40,000 people out of 120,000...
, will be relocated inland.
Meulaboh
The town of MeulabohMeulaboh
Meulaboh is the capital of West Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Meulaboh is among the hardest hit areas by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Being just 150 km from the epicenter of the earthquake, Meulaboh was hit by tsunami, leaving the estimated deaths of 40,000 people out of 120,000...
, which had a population of 120,000 before the tsunami, was struck by a series of seven waves, killing an estimated 40,000 and destroying most parts of the city, according to relief organisers and local government officials. Approximately 50,000 people lost their homes in the region, local government workers seem to be overwhelmed and there is little sign of coordination with regional authorities. About 5000 have taken refuge at Meulaboh College but conditions there are getting steadily worse. An Indonesian navy ship bringing aid supplies to Meulaboh was forced to turn away after it was unable to dock because the port facilities were destroyed. The small airport nearby has been reopened and small aircraft can now land there.
Western islands
Government officials were initially very concerned over the lack of reports from the many small islands dotting the western coast of Sumatra, such as the islands of SimeulueSimeulue
Simeulue Regency is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. It occupies the whole island of Simeulue , 150 km off the west coast of Sumatra, with a population of 80,279 ....
and Nias
Nias
Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
, among the poorest areas in Indonesia. However, casualties seem to be comparatively light in comparison to the mainland of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
.
Simeulue island
SimeulueSimeulue
Simeulue Regency is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. It occupies the whole island of Simeulue , 150 km off the west coast of Sumatra, with a population of 80,279 ....
was not the tragedy many government officials feared despite its proximity to the quake epicentre. Only five of the 70,000 villagers on Simeulue were killed, all of them in the earthquake that struck at 7.55am last Sunday. Although 90% of the buildings along its coast have been destroyed, nobody perished in the five-metre-high walls of water that followed. Local traditions seem to have saved them. Mayor Darmili said villagers on the island were used to earthquakes and tsunamis. A big earthquake last struck in 2002. "Thousands of our people were killed by a tsunami in 1907 and we have many earthquakes here," he said. "Our ancestors have a saying - if there is an earthquake run for your life."
Nias island
On NiasNias
Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
island official accounts gave the number of dead at 122 via the Ministry of Health, while various unconfirmed sources (mostly from phone calls by relatives living in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
) report death tolls of over 600; others say the number is more likely to go well over 1000. Reports have surfaced that the small islets off the coast of Nias island in the Sirombu district are still relatively intact, but high waves still prevent locals from attempting to reach the islands. Confirmation and communications to the islands are further hampered by damage to telecommunication infrastructures, where phone lines are broken and radio networks have been said to be down due to bad weather. This infrastructure damage has severely hampered the distribution of aid.
Later another big earthquake hit Nias island.
Complications owing to Aceh insurgency
An accurate picture of the damage was made difficult due to the insurgencyInsurgency in Aceh
The insurgency in Aceh was waged by the Free Aceh Movement between 1976 and 2005 in order to obtain independence from Indonesia. Destruction caused by the armed conflicts and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake brought a peace deal and an end to the insurgency....
of the separatist Free Aceh Movement
Free Aceh Movement
The Free Aceh Movement , also known as the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front , was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra from Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005, costing over 15,000 lives...
and the Indonesian military crackdown which means that there were relatively few journalists, government offices, or aid workers in northern Sumatra prior to the earthquake. On 27 December the government lifted the 18-month-old ban prohibiting foreign journalists and aid workers from travelling to Aceh. Also on 27 December a spokesperson for the Free Aceh Movement declared a ceasefire so humanitarian aid could reach survivors, and so as not to complicate the already devastating situation, however some have expressed doubt that there will be good-faith cooperation between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian military. Despite losing many soldiers to the tsunami, the military retains a massive presence in the region.
On 6 January the Indonesian military reported that soldiers had been attacked while on humanitarian missions. The insurgents in turn claim that the Indonesian military is taking advantage of the situation. If the clashes continue, it would pose a problem for humanitarian organisations operating outside of the cities near rebel strongholds. Travel restrictions may be put on foreigners again if the conflict restarts. U.S. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
has warned Indonesia not to use any of the military aid being provided for relief efforts for counterinsurgency efforts.
Relief efforts
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
as aid has proved slow to arrive.
Fifteen thousand troops, who were in the region to fight the insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
, were dispatched to render assistance and to search for survivors. However, many soldiers and their families were themselves killed. Three days of national mourning were declared. The Indonesian government declared the local provincial Acehnese government as totally crippled (many local politicians based in Banda Aceh were killed when the tsunami struck the city) and declared that all administrative control would be handled directly from Jakarta.
The unmanageably high number of corpses strewn all over the cities and countrysides, limited resources and time for identifying bodies, and the very real threat of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
, diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
and other diseases prompted emergency workers to create makeshift mass graves. One of the most urgently required supplies were body bags.
There were significant bottlenecks created by lack of infrastructure and red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
. The United Nation's Children's Fund reported on Thursday that aid for 200,000 people, including medical supplies, soap and tarpaulin
Tarpaulin
A tarpaulin, colloquially tarp, is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with urethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. In some places such as Australia, and in military slang, a tarp may be known as a...
, was being held at Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
for a day to clear customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
. The US consul in Medan in southern Sumatra reported that aid there was piling up at the airports of Medan and Banda Aceh because there were not enough trucks to transport it. 11 days after the disaster and few foreign relief workers or supplies have reached the local people in local centres such as Meulaboh, Aceh.
In the immediate aftermath, one of the most pressing concerns was the inability to distribute sufficient aid due to a lack of accessible roads and a shortage of available helicopters. What little aid has reached the remote regions of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
province is trickling in primarily by boat and air.
While the airfield outside Banda Aceh was functioning, most of the other small gravel airfields were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. In the first days only two airfields were functioning in the province. As most of the few roads in the region were on the coast because of the rugged interior, much of the transport infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
was damaged or destroyed. Helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s and Indonesian navy ships off the coast supplied a small amount of aid.
At 2.30 am on 4 January 2005 at Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
airport a heavy cargo plane as it landed hit a water buffalo which had strayed onto the runway. The left side of the plane's undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
collapsed, making the plane un-movable blocking the runway for a big part of that day, except for helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, until some specialists came from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to put a temporary support under that part of the plane, and men moved the plane off the runway.
Four planes carrying aid were sent by Australia and one from the US carrying an evaluation team. An Australian ship carrying helicopters set sail, but did not reach Sumatra until 14 January 2005. A US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aircraft carrier battle group
Carrier battle group
A carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts, together composing the group. The first naval task forces built around carriers appeared just prior to and during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the first to assemble a large number of carriers into a single...
centred on USS Abraham Lincoln
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
USS Abraham Lincoln , is the fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after former president Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is Everett, Washington.-Construction:...
, dispatched to assist Aceh, began ferrying small amounts of supplies to the remnants of small coastal communities. The US relief operation is based at the Thai base of Utapao.
In Aceh some elephants from a wildlife park
Wildlife Park
Wildlife Park is a construction and management simulation game released in 2003. Like Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Empire, the game involves players in building a wildlife park or zoo.-Animal list:45 animals were included in the original game....
were used to move debris. (Elephants were also used in Thailand).
External links
- The Jakarta Post newspaper (Indonesia)
- Banda Aceh, Indonesia Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 2004-12-28
- Surf Aid International surfers seek to give back to their favorite surfing spots
- NiasIsland.com an open content site made by Niasians and (former) visitors to Nias
- Aceh IT-Media Center a relief coordinating site/media center from the Indonesian IT community
- Indonesia HELP Aid and donations information blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
for earthquake and tsunami victims in Aceh & North Sumatra (Indonesia) - IndonesiaHelp.ORG collection of news/articles from other resources (in some languages).