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More survivors found as tsunami death toll tops 400
Rescuers on Friday found islanders who beat the odds and survived the quake-triggered tsunami that devastated Mentawai Islands regency in West Sumatra on Monday and killed more than 400 people
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escuers on Friday found islanders who beat the odds and survived the quake-triggered tsunami that devastated Mentawai Islands regency in West Sumatra on Monday and killed more than 400 people.
Four-year-old Andripal Samaloisa was found by residents floating on a river on Thursday with bruises all over his body.
“We found him on top of a piece of Styrofoam next to a durian, which was left untouched. He was injured and could not find his grandmother. He was dazed,” Supri Lindra, a resident of Sikapap district, the regency’s main district where the disaster management post is located, said Friday.
The boy was among 62 survivors from Sabaugunggung village in North Pagai district where the tidal waves — the biggest since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Aceh — flattened all buildings in the village, killing 98 and leaving 16 others missing.
Immense grief: Lisna and her brother cry after their mother was found dead following the earthquake and tsunami in a village in Muntei, Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, on Friday. Officials said the death toll from a tsunami that hit the remote area on Monday had surpassed 400. Reuters/Crack Palinggi
Another survivor, six-year-old Repen, survived the disaster after the waves swept through his home in Muntei Baru-Baru village on North Pagai Island, Mentawai Islands regency legislator Jan Winnen Sipayung said.
“He was found tangled in the roots of a banana tree on a hill 800 meters from the shore. He survived with light injuries thanks to the tree,” Jan told The Jakarta Post.
When a tsunami struck Aceh six years ago, a British TV crew found seven-year-old Martunis wandering in a delirious state on a beach where he had been for 19 days, wearing the red and green jersey of the Portuguese national soccer team. His miraculous story of survival inspired the Portuguese Football Federation to fly him to Lisbon to meet his soccer heroes.
Monday night’s tsunami devastated at least seven villages on the western coast of North and South Pagai as well as Sipora Islands — three of the four largest islands in the Mentawai chain.
On Friday, the official death toll stood at 413, with 163 still missing. The disaster has also left 4,000 people homeless.
“We are currently focused on providing medical aid, logistics and shelter while continuing search and rescue operations,” Jan said.
At the Sikakap community health center, 98 survivors — 78 suffering from serious injuries — called for more medical aid as facilities and personnel were limited.
Many were treated lying on a blue tarpaulin laid out on the floor, while intravenous bags were suspended on ropes hung from the building’s beams.
“There are too many patients and not enough doctors,” 30-year-old survivor Redius said. He suffered serious injuries to his hands, legs and face when the first wave slammed into his house, which stood only 100 meters from the shore.
“When the second wave came, it was more than 7 meters high and a relative had to carry me away on his back,” he said.
Mentawai Health Agency head Tomar Sabola said there were not enough medical teams, medicine and facilities to treat patients.
“We also don’t have proper transport to reach survivors trapped in their villages. They have to be brought here to get decent treatment,” he told the Post at the health center.
There are currently only three medical posts set up in Sikakap: at the health center, at Mentawai
Protestant Church and the Indonesian Red Cross post.
Ideally, Tomar said, there should be one medical post in every tsunami-affected village, since it would take time to evacuate survivors to Sikakap.
Jan said aircraft had started to drop off relief aid to affected villages and more transport was being provided, including by the NGO SurfAid.
However, West Sumatra Military Commander Mulyono said his team could not deliver a lot of the aid to survivors because of rough seas due to rain and strong winds.
