[hang nadim] Indonesia hit by deadly tsunami, volcanic eruption

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia (AP): A volcanic eruption and a tsunami killed scores of people hundreds of miles apart in Indonesia - spasms from the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which spawns disasters from deep within the Earth.

Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi killed at least 18 people, forced thousands to flee down its slopes and spewed burning ash and smoke high into the air on the island of Java.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Sumatra, about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) west of the volcano, rescuers battled rough seas to reach Indonesia's Mentawai islands, where a 10-foot tsunami triggered by an earthquake Monday night swept away hundreds of homes, killing at least 113 villagers, said Mujiharto of the Health Ministry's crisis center. Up to 500 others are missing.

The twin disasters happened hours apart in one of the most seismically active regions on the planet.

Scientists have warned that pressure building beneath Merapi's lava dome could trigger its most powerful explosion in years.

But Gede Swantika, a government volcanologist, expressed hope the 9,737-foot (2,968-meter) mountain, which sent rocks and debris cascading down its southern slope, could be releasing steam slowly.

"It's too early to know for sure," he said, adding that a big blast could still be coming. "But if it continues like this for a while, we are looking at a slow, long eruption."

A 2006 eruption at Merapi killed two people, one in 1994 killed 60 people, and a 1930 blast killed 1,300.

After refusing to budge from the volcano's fertile slopes, saying they wanted to tend to their crops and protect their homes, villagers started streaming by the thousands into makeshift emergency shelters late Tuesday. Many carried sleeping mats, bags of clothes and food as they settled in.

Officials said earlier that by closely monitoring the volcano 310 miles (500 kilometers) southeast of the capital of Jakarta, they thought they could avoid casualties. But the death toll rose quickly.

Police and volunteers were shown on Metro TV pulling at least 14 ash-covered bodies and carrying them to waiting vehicles.

Among the dead was a 2-month-old baby, said Mareta, a hospital worker who goes by only one name. The infant's tiny body was draped in a sheet as his mother cried.

Three people at Panti Nugroho hospital died of burns after being hit by a searing cloud of ash, said Agustinus Parjo, a spokesman.

Even as they contended with the volcano - one of 129 to watch in the world's largest archipelago - officials were trying to assess the impact of Monday night's 7.7-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra that triggered the killer tsunami.

The quake, just 13 miles (20 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor, was followed by at least 14 aftershocks, the largest measuring 6.2, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The fault also caused the 2004 quake and monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

After Monday's quake and tsunami, many panicked residents fled to high ground and were too afraid to return home.

That could account in part for the more than 500 people still missing, said Hendri Dori, a local parliamentarian, adding: "We're trying to stay hopeful."

Hundreds of wooden and bamboo homes were washed away on the island of Pagai, with water flooding crops and roads up to 600 yards (meters) inland. In Muntei Baru, a village on Silabu island, 80 percent of the houses were badly damaged.

With few relief workers able to get to the hardest-hit islands - reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride - fishermen searched for the living and dead. Corpses lay unburied because there was not enough outside help to dig graves, according to the Mentawai district chief, Edison Salelo Baja.

The island chain, 175 miles (280 kilometers) from Sumatra, has long been popular with surfers.

A group of Australians said they were on the back deck of their chartered boat, anchored in a bay, when the quake hit just before 10 p.m. Monday. It generated a wave that pushed their boat into a neighboring vessel. A fire soon ripped through their cabin.

"We threw whatever we could that floated - surfboards, fenders - then we jumped into the water," Rick Hallet told Australia's Nine Network. "Fortunately, most of us had something to hold on to ... and we just washed in the wetlands, and scrambled up the highest trees that we could possibly find and sat up there for an hour and a half."

Ade Edward, a disaster management agency official, said crews from several ships were still unaccounted for in the Indian Ocean.

The quake also jolted towns along Sumatra's western coast - including Padang, which last year was hit by a deadly 7.6-magnitude quake that killed more than 700. Mosques blared tsunami warnings over their loudspeakers.

"Everyone was running out of their houses," said Sofyan Alawi, adding that the roads leading to surrounding hills were quickly jammed with thousands of cars and motorcycles.

113 maut, 502 hilang disapu tsunami di Sumatera


















BEBERAPA penduduk melarikan diri ke tempat yang lebih tinggi selepas gegaran gempa bumi kuat dirasai di Padang, Indonesia kelmarin.

JAKARTA - Kira-kira 113 orang maut dan ratusan lagi termasuk sekumpulan peluncur ombak Australia hilang kelmarin setelah ombak besar tsunami yang dicetuskan satu gempa bumi kuat melanda Kepulauan Mentawai di perairan Sumatera dengan memusnahkan perkampungan dan rumah.

Ketua Pusat Krisis Kementerian Kesihatan Indonesia, Mujiarto berkata, menurut maklumat terkini seramai 113 ornag terbunuh.

Menurut Pertubuhan Palang Merah Indonesia, bilangan mereka yang masih hilang ialah 502 orang.

Agensi Kaji Selidik Geologi Amerika Syarikat (AS) menyatakan, gempa bumi kuat berukuran 7.7 pada skala Richter menggegarkan Kepulauan Mentawai, barat pulau Sumatera pada pukul 9.42 malam kelmarin waktu tempatan.

Gempa itu berpusat pada kedalaman 20.6 kilometer, 280 kilometer ke selatan bandar Padang.

Beberapa pegawai berkata, bencana itu mencetuskan tsunami setinggi tiga meter yang menghanyutkan 10 buah kampung.

Sekumpulan pelancong Australia melaporkan bahawa bot mereka yang dinaiki 15 orang musnah dipukul ombak yang kelihatan seperti tembok air menghempas sebuah teluk selepas gempa bumi bawah laut itu berlaku.

Sebahagian mereka terpaksa berpaut pada pokok-pokok untuk terus hidup.

Agensi Kaji Selidik Geologi AS menyatakan, gempa bumi itu berlaku pada pukul 9.42 malam (waktu tempatan) pada kedalaman 20.6 kilometer, dan berpusat 280 kilometer ke selatan bandar Padang.

Mudjiharto berkata, tsunami di Mentawai melanda sejauh 600 meter ke darat di Pulau Pagai Selatan, lokasi paling teruk terjejas.

Sementara itu, seorang warga Australia, Rick Hallet menyatakan, dia bersama 15 yang lain melihat seolah-olah satu tembok air bergerak ke arah botnya yang dinaiki mereka di sebuah teluk di kepulauan Mentawai.

"Kami mendengar bunyi ngauman yang amat kuat," kata Hallet yang menguruskan perniagaan sewa bot di Sumatera.

"Saya terus melihat ke laut dan kami melihat tembok air itu menuju ke arah kami. Tsunami itu melambungkan sebuah bot ke arah kami dan bot kami meletup akibat rempuhan," tambahnya.

Kumpulan itu termasuk sembilan warga Australia itu kemudian bertindak pantas dengan terjun ke dalam air ketika bot mereka meletup.

Beberapa orang daripada mereka dihanyutkan sejauh 200 meter ke darat.- Agensi

Bayi korban pertama Gunung Merapi

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia 26 Okt. - Seorang bayi berusia dua bulan menjadi korban pertama Gunung Merapi, manakala 20 lagi cedera apabila gunung itu mula meletus hari ini selepas para saintis memberi amaran tekanan yang semakin meningkat di bawah kubah lahar gunung itu boleh mencetuskan letusan paling berbahaya dalam tempoh beberapa tahun.

Bayi itu yang tidak diketahui jantinanya mati semasa didukung ibunya ketika orang ramai bertempiaran menyelamatkan diri sewaktu gunung itu mula meletus.

Stesen televisyen swasta, Metro TV melaporkan, mayat bayi itu telah dihantar ke hospital berdekatan.

Kebanyakan yang cedera adalah akibat terkena debu panas yang dihamburkan oleh Gunung Merapi, termasuk enam melecur teruk, kata seorang wartawan AP, yang menyaksikan penduduk yang cedera dibawa keluar dari kawasan ini untuk mendapatkan rawatan.

Ketua ahli vulkanologi, Subandriyo berkata, letusan itu berlaku sebelum waktu senja.

Gunung itu sebelum itu telah mengeluarkan bunyi menderam dan asap tebal selama beberapa jam, katanya.

"Berlaku bunyi deraman yang kuat selama beberapa ketika, mungkin selama 15 minit.

"Kemudian kepulan debu panas besar mula dihamburkan ke udara," kata seorang petani yang masih belum meninggalkan rumahnya di kawasan cerun gunung berapi itu ketika ia meletus.

"Tenaganya meningkat...kami berharap ia akan reda perlahan-lahan.

"Jika tidak kita akan melihat satu letusan yang besar, lebih besar daripada apa yang kita lihat semasa ia meletus beberapa tahun lalu," kata ahli vulkanologi kerajaan, Surono kepada wartawan.

Kira-kira 11,400 penduduk yang tinggal berhampiran gunung berapi itu telah digesa untuk berpindah.

Namun, kebanyakan mereka yang berbuat demikian hanyalah warga tua dan kanak-kanak, sementara orang dewasa cenderung untuk tidak meninggalkan rumah dan tanaman mereka di kawasan cerun itu. - AP