Sunday, December 26, 2004
Earthquake, flooding kills more than 400 in Indonesia
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia: Indonesian towns nearest the epicenter of Sunday's massive undersea earthquake were leveled by tidal waves, killing at least 408 people and leaving bodies wedged in trees as the waters receded, officials and witnesses said.
Communications were down in several coastal towns facing the epicenter of the 8.9 magnitude temblor off the west coast of Sumatra island, officials said, raising fears that further death and damage were yet to be reported. Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra island -- which for years has been torn by separatist violence -- was worst hit. Thousands of people had abandoned their homes and were headed for higher ground after the earthquake, which was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the seabed off Sumatra's north coast, sent waves surging inland about 8 a.m. (0100 GMT), officials said. The earthquake -- the most powerful in 40 years -- triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into coastlines across Asia, killing more than 2,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand. At least one coastal village, Lancuk, was nearly destroyed, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter in the village saw several bodies wedged in trees. "Waves as high as two or three meters suddenly rose up in the sea,'' said one fisherman, Marzuki. "The water has destroyed dozens of houses.'' Hospital officials and emergency workers in Lhokseumawe said 90 people in the region had been killed, including many young children. At least 98 people were killed in northern Bireun district as a result of flooding and "dozens'' more were missing, said district head Mustofa Glanggang. Most of the bodies were found on the beach. "More deaths are possible,'' he told the AP. "People are too afraid to go home. They are gathering in open places and hospitals.'' Lt. Col. Ali Taruna Jaya told Metro TV station that 165 people had been killed by floodwaters in neigboring Pidie district. On Nias, a sparsely populated island off Aceh's western coast, at least 42 people died in floodwaters, police said. In Aceh's provincial capital, Banda Aceh, nine people were swept away, one witness told Indonesian radio. More than 500 kilometers (310 miles) 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 Sgt. Ginting, who goes by a single name.--AP
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