WORLD LEADERS CONDOLE WITH INDONESIAN TSUNAMI VICTIMS' FAMILIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 25 (Antara) - Condolences from world leaders are pouring in for the families of the victims of the Indonesian tsunami that struck Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java, claiming at least 429 lives on Saturday.          Condolences poured in from home and abroad for the victims. From abroad, condolences were offered by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others.         A towering tsunami, believed to have been triggered by an avalanche of the slopes of Anak Krakatau due to the volcano's explosions in Sunda Strait, devastated several regions in the coastal areas of Banten Province in Java and Lampung Province in Sumatra on Saturday (Dec 22).         Anak Krakatau is a small volcanic island located in Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra. It emerged from the ocean half a century after Mount Krakatau's deadly eruption in 1883. The volcano was put on the second-highest alert level in 2012. Anak Krakatau has seen small regular eruptions since June.

SAD DAYS AHEAD OF XMAS, NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 24 (Antara) - People around the globe are usually happy in the face of the year end as they are ready to celebrate Christmas and New Year festivities, but Indonesian people had to bow their heads in sorrow.         A towering tsunami devastated several regions in the coastal areas of Banten province in Java and South Lampung District in Lampung Province on Saturday (Dec 22), killing at least 334 people.         The tsunami was believed to have been triggered by an avalanche of the slopes of Anak Krakatau volcano explosions in the Sunda Strait that separates the Islands of Java and Sumatra.         The Sunda Strait tsunami happened several months after an earthquake and its subsequent tsunami hit Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Sept 28, killing 2,102 people, and Lombok Island on Aug 5, claiming the lives of 555 residents.         Expressions of condolences are pouring from home and abroad for the victims. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have expressed their condolences.

RI SURVIVES JAPAN'S TSUNAMI THREAT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 11 (ANTARA) - After having about eight hours of panic and tense, villagers in the coastal areas of North Sulawesi, North Maluku and Papua provinces, took a deep breath of relief as the devastating tsunami in Japan  did not reach their areas.          The towering tsunami which crippled north-east of Japan, did not reach their areas until the deadline set by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at 6 pm western Indonesia Time (WIB) had passed on Friday evening.          "Based on procedures, the tsunami warning is lifted if one hour after the deadline is passed. Now that we have passed one hour of the deadline, the BMKG is now withdrawing its tsunami warning and declared that all areas in Indonesia are secure from the threat," BMKG Chief Sri Woro B Harijono said in an interview with TVone station Saturday evening.          The BMKG has earlier issued a warning that Japan's tsunami may reach the eastern part of Indonesia, particularly North Sulawesi, North Maluku and Papua provinces following a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale which took place about 373 km from the national capital of Tokyo and triggered a giant  tsunami.         "The tsunami was first expected to reach Indonesia at 6 pm WIB or  8 pm Central Indonesia Time (WIT)," BMKG head Sri Woro B Harijono told ANTARA on Friday noon. She said it would likely hit Papua, North Maluku and North Sulawesi.          Following the warning, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono called for the evacuation of people living in the  coastal areas in Indonesia's northeast.          He  said a tsunami would possibly sweep West Papua, Papua, North Maluku and North Sulawesi provinces and areas around them.  People in the regions have to be on  heightened  alert.          "They must all be prepared, especially those living in Indonesia's eastern regions," he said.  Agung therefore called for the evacuation of people living in coastal areas in Indonesia's northeast. "If necessary, we will evacuate people in coastal areas to higher ground immediately." he said.          The minister also asked the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in the regions concerned to be ready for  eventualities.          He called on the people to remain calm and not to panic but to be ready for eventualities.          Chairman of the BNPB's Data and Information Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho also believed that waves from the tsunami in Japan may reach  West Papua, Papua, North Maluku, and North Sulawesi on Friday at around 6 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time.          "BNPB has asked for assistance from the regional authorities, the Indonesian military (TNI) and the Police to inform the public living in coastal areas so they can be on alert," he said.          An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours. Reports put the territories of Guam, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia and Hawaii under a lower tsunami watch.          In the meantime, reports of Japan's earthquake with its subsequent tsunami which until Friday had killed at least 23 people, caused panic among people living in North Maluku, North Sulawesi and Papua.          Residents of Tobelo city, North Halmahera district, North Maluku province, rushed to higher areas upon hearing the information on possible tsunami to hit the province.          "We fled to Kupa Kupa which is higher than our area. We live in a coastal area so that we rushed to a higher land area when we heard the BMKG warning through television,"  Jopi Soselissa of Tobelo said.          BMKG chief for Ambon, capital of Maluku, Irwan Slamet said his side gave priority to residents living in areas that sit on a fault in North Maluku, which was a meeting point of the Euroasia and Pacific plates.          "We are intensively monitoring the impact of Japan's quake and its subsequent tsunami though we predict that Maluku would not be affected by the tsunami waves,"  he said.          In North Sulawesi, local residents were also panicked to hear the news that a tsunami due to an earthquake in Japan could sweep their areas. Civil servants at the North Sulawesi regional government office burst out of their office as soon as they learned the news.          Some of them contacted their families at home and asked them to avoid Manado (capital of North Sulawesi)'s coastal areas. Some others came to pick their family members to evacuate.          "My family live in the coastal area so that I go home to pick them up and ask them to evacuate to a safer place," said Steven, a civil servant working at the North Sulawesi regional government office.          Star Wowor, who is North Sulawesi regional government secretary, also contacted his family soon to avoid staying in the coastal areas. The same is also true to those in the shopping centers. They burst out of the shops and sought for higher fields as soon as they heard the news about tsunami.          In Papua, most of people living around the Wafnor beach, Biak Kota, in Biak Numfor district, also fled their homes to seek secure places. Some residents admitted they were panicked when they heard the BMKG tsunami warning that the waves would likely reach their village at 8 pm WIT.          "My family members were evacuated to higher places to avoid the tsunami waves as warned by the BMKG," Launsi, who lived in Wafnor coastal area, said.      (T.A014/A/H-NG/A/S012) March 11, 2011

MORE SHIPS NEEDED FOR HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS IN MENTAWAI

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 29 (ANTARA) - Ships are vitally important to distribute logistics and carry out evacuation of victims in Mentawai Islands, a district in West Sumatra crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami which flattened at least six villages and killed no less than 400 people last Monday.          "Ships are expected to move with agility to reach evacuation locations so that assistance during the emergency response could reach the victims soon," Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Deputy Chief for organization development, Firman Hasan said on Thursday.           Therefore, PMI's branch office in West Sumatra is hiring a ship for humanitarian operations in the tsunami-hit Mentawai Islands. "The ship will be operated for one week to visit areas and villagers who so far have not yet been evacuated and received humanitarian assistance,"  Firman Hasan.           He said that the ship was hired in cooperation with a non-governmental organization from Bali as part of the efforts to speed up assistance into the island.          In the next step, he said, PMI office in West Sumatra will also hire a bigger ship so that the volume of humanitarian assistance could be increased. "The sea vehicles are needed to support operations in Mentawai Islands, particularly in separate sub-districts in the surrounding isles that could only be reached through sea transportation," he said.          So far, four warships and one hospital warship have also been deployed to conduct humanitarian operations.          The Teluk Bayur naval base in Padang, West Sumatra,  deployed four warships providing aid to tsunami victims.  The four warships are KRI Imam Bonjol, KRI Gilimanuk, KRI Cirebon and  KRI Teluk Manado.          "The four warships are scheduled to arrive at their destinations on Friday," operations assistant of the Naval Base Col Indarto Budiarto said. The warships carried medical supplies from the Indonesian Red Cross in Jakarta and medical personnel from the marines.          Besides medical supplies and other logistics, KRI Imam Bonjol also brought a helicopter and a Cassa plane. All the warships will distribute all kinds of aid from Padang and transport volunteers to the Mentawai islands.          In order to help injured victims, mobile hospital is also important. Therefore,  mobile hospitals will be set up in quake hit areas to serve wounded victims, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said. "We have inspected a location in Munte Baru, Pagai Selatan, where the condition is very concerning with all house leveled to the ground," she said.          For mobile hospital at sea,  the naval hospital ship KRI Dr Soeharso has canceled a journey to Wasior, Papua, and is   sailing to Mentawai to help tsunami victims there. "The ship was supposed to leave today for Wasior but last night the commander of the National Defense Forces (TNI) told the navy chief of staff to cancel the plan and ordered it to go to Mentawai instead," Eastern Fleet Command spokesman Lt Col Yayan Sugiana said on Wednesday.          The hospital ship is scheduled to leave for Mentawai on Thursday morning and would be there for a month. "The ship was initially scheduled to conduct a humanitarian mission in Wasior (recently hit by flash floods) for a month. So its task in Mentawai will be the same," he said.          The ship would carry logistics such as food, beverages and medical supplies initially allocated for flood victims in Wasior. The ship will also carry navy personnel and 22 doctors and nurses experienced in various disciplines.          The Eastern Fleet Command is still waiting for further orders from the TNI  commander and the navy chief of staff on assigning more ships  to Mentawai. "For the time being we will send one because three naval ships from the Western Fleet command have already been sent there," he said.          Regarding logistics assistance, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has presented up to 18 tons of various kinds of basic necessaries to victims of the tsunami in Mentawai.          His spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said it had been confirmed that all of the aid had reached the victims. Four tons of the aid were sent by land and sea while the other 14 tons by air.          President Yudhoyono has asked all offices concerned to ensure that the aid reached those really in need. He  also called for transparency in relief aid  distribution. Aid has also come from various parties.          In an early meeting in Padang, several officials reported a number of foreign countries and international organizations had also expressed their wish to help. The head of the President's Working Unit for Development Control and Supervision, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, reported Japan was one of the foreign countries that had offered aid.          He said New Zealand had also expressed its readiness to send various kinds of aid anytime needed.          Kuntoro said the UN had also prepared aid for immediate shipment.          In the meantime,  West Sumatra branch of Indonesian Red Cross  will soon send 1,000 tents to earthquake-triggered tsunami disaster areas. Local PMI spokesman Hidayatul Irwan in a press statement made available to Antara said five of its workers left to Mentawai on Tuesday evening.           Hidayatul said PMI held an internal coordination meeting on Wednesday night to discuss an immediate shipment of the tents to the disaster areas in Mentawai.           "On Wednesday,  PMI sent a special evacuation team of ten persons, assessment team, logistic assistance, but the tents were sent on Thursday," Hidayatul said.           PMI also mobilized tens of personnel and sent four ambulances to Mentawai for early assessment.           "PMI West Sumatra office has sent four ambulances and tens of personnel. For the moment, we are still waiting for complete report from the local PMI office on the situation in Mentawai,"  Achmad Djaelani of the Jakarta-based PMI Headquarters, said in a statement.***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/13:15/A/O001) 29-10-2010 13:19:3