Canada offers $100,000 in aid to victims of Indonesian disasters

OTTAWA—Ottawa says it will provide humanitarian support to those affected by the recent natural disasters in Indonesia.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced today the government would offer $100,000 to the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies.

The money will go to providing non-food emergency supplies to some of those affected by the recent volcanic eruptions and earthquake.

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano began erupting October 25, killing 138 people and displacing more than 100,000.

On the same day, a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami and killing no less than 449 people and displacing some 15,000.

Indonesia is one of Canada’s countries of focus in Asia and in 2008-2009, the Canadian International Development Agency contributed $79.32 million in development assistance to Indonesia.

Indonesians appeal for help after twin disasters

KUWAIT: Dhani Putri Dwi Kusuma, in her early thirties, watches the news of the disaster-stricken area of her native Indonesia in despair. Her family lives under the slopes of Mount Merapi where the Mount Merapi volcano has reportedly killed more than 40 people. A nurse working in Kuwait, Dwi Kusuma says that her family was spared because they immediately moved to the city of Java following the news of the volcano's imminent eruption in early October. "Scientists monitoring the volcano advised people living there to move away so we listened to them and moved to the city of Java," she said. "My family was spared but I have some relatives and friends there who died.

Dwi Kusuma is one of the thousands of Indonesians living in Kuwait who recently responded to a donation drive for the victims of the two disasters that struck Indonesia recently. The 2 disasters have reportedly killed more than 500 people, most of them victims of the tsunami. "We’re collecting cash donations because it's easier to send and can instantly help our compatriots who were affected by the two disasters," said Suli Hamdani, a representative of the Indonesian community in Kuwait.

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Indonesia's economy at mercy of disasters

The Mentawai islands tsunami in West Sumatra and Mount Merapi's multiple volcanic eruptions have left a question mark as to whether Indonesia, located in the Ring of Fire, is able to properly tackle natural disasters and the ramifications this has for its continued economic growth.

With the tsunami death toll now at more than 400, the main question still to be answered is why the tsunami alarm did not sound. According to a meteorology and geophysics official, it began malfunctioning in 2009 and stopped working last month due to alleged poor maintenance. This is unacceptable.

There have also been problems concerning transportation in and around the disaster area, including South and North Pagai islands. It is proving difficult to help victims as it is about a four-hour journey by boat, and dangerous in rough seas. Furthermore, road conditions are poor or lacking.

"We're very confused on how to deliver the aid. We have the logistics aid and hundreds of volunteers who are ready to lend their hands to the disaster sites. But we can't transport them,'' Mentawai Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency's co-ordinating unit officer, Masrizal, told local media last week.

Indonesia disaster toll hits 377 as volcano erupts again

(Reuters) - Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Thursday for the second time in a week, blasting vast plumes of ash into the sky, as the death toll from the initial eruption and a tsunami that hit remote western islands reached 377.

There were no immediate reports of new casualties after Merapi's second eruption. More than 40,000 people had fled or been evacuated from Merapi's slopes earlier in the week, but many started to return after the volcano appeared to become calmer.

Officials said the death toll from a tsunami that hit the remote western Mentawai islands on Monday had reached at least 343. The tsunami was triggered on Monday by a 7.5 magnitude quake. A day later, Mount Merapi on the outskirts of Yogyakarta city on Java island erupted, killing at least 34.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had been due to take part in a summit of Asian leaders in Hanoi from Thursday to Saturday, flew back to Indonesia after the twin disasters.

Indonesia disaster death toll rises

A volcanic eruption and a tsunami have killed scores of people hundreds of miles apart in Indonesia - reactions from the Pacific "Ring of Fire" which spawns disasters from deep within the Earth.

The eruption of Mount Merapi on Tuesday killed at least 25 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 west of the volcano, rescuers battled rough seas to reach the remote Mentawai islands, where a 10ft tsunami triggered by an earthquake swept away hundreds of homes, killing at least 113 villagers, said the health ministry's crisis centre. 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 9,737ft mountain, which sent rocks and debris cascading down its southern slope, could be releasing steam slowly.