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Hunger, grief set in as Indonesia toll climbs
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-29 16:03

Hunger and grief stalked the streets of Indonesia's devastated Aceh province on Wednesday as thousands of people searched for lost family and friends three days after a massive tsunami swept the region.

Roads were covered with mud, smashed vehicles and the debris of collapsed buildings and bridges, making travel difficult.

Indonesian Muslims in Jakarta weep during special prayers for victims of the quake-triggered tsunami in Aceh province December 28, 2004. The death toll from an earthquake and tsunami that struck Indonesia's Sumatra island two days ago has reached 7,072 in Aceh province, according to a list shown to journalists on Tuesday by a provincial official. [Reuters]

Several navy ships have been dispatched to the western coast of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, to contact whole cities and villages as yet unheard from.

The death toll in Indonesia from the giant quake-triggered waves was estimated as high as 40,000 by Vice-President Jusuf Kalla as rescuers struggled to reach worst-hit areas.

Residents of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital where as much as five percent of the 300,000 population is believed dead, were stricken with grief and numb with shock.

"I have given up searching for their bodies," said Rohani Amad, 40, wiping her eyes with a black Muslim headscarf, days after two sisters and her 16-year-old daughter disappeared. "I have lost my house. I just don't know what to do," she sobbed.

The fear of more deadly waves had people on edge.

"The water is coming, the water is coming," shouted terrified survivors as they fled in the latest of a series of false alarms.

Hundreds of people ran for several city blocks before soldiers restored order.

Two women weep as they wait for medical treatment at a miltiary hosptial in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, December 29, 2004, after a tsunami hit the area on Sunday. Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday the death toll from the weekend quake and tsunami had reached as high as 40,000 people. He said an estimated five percent of the 300,000 population of the Aceh's provincial capital, Banda Aceh, had died. [Reuters]

Many residents said they had not eaten for days.

"There is no food here whatsoever. We need rice. We need petrol. We need medicine. I haven't eaten in two days," said Vaiti Usman, a woman in her mid-30s, gesturing angrily at her filthy sarong, saying it was the last of her possessions.

The government and foreign donors have begun airlifting food and water into Aceh, some 1,700 km (1,000 miles) northwest of Jakarta, but the sheer scale of the task is daunting.

DAUNTING TASK

The region was already under civilian emergency rule as part of efforts to quell a separatist insurgency that began in 1976. Rebels have announced a cease-fire as people search for their loved ones.

The stench of decomposing corpses spread over Banda Aceh, where the death toll was estimated at about 15,000, and fresh water, food and fuel were in short supply.

Bodies lay scattered on the streets as soldiers and volunteers collected corpses for mass burial to prevent disease.

"The death toll is now 32,502 people," Social Ministry spokesman Syafruddin told Reuters at mid-morning on Wednesday, giving the overall figure for Indonesia's losses.

Across Asia, known deaths neared 70,000.

The tragedy was triggered by a 9.0-magnitude quake off Sumatra on Sunday, sending a wall of water up to 10 meters (33 ft) high speeding across the Indian Ocean.

Some parts of Sumatra have yet to be heard from or reached by rescue crews.

One of the worst-hit cities was Meulaboh, about 150 km (90 miles) from the quake's epicenter off Aceh's western coast. Mayor Tengku Zulkarnaen said three-quarters of his city of 95,000 people had been washed away.

"We can't calculate it all now, but a rough estimate is tens of thousands dead," he said by phone to a local radio station.

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