EFFECTS OF TSUNAMI ON INDONESIA
Due to its proximity to the epicentre of the December 26th earthquake and subsequent tsunami, Indonesia suffered the most physical damage and loss of human life of all of its neighbours. Whole villages were wiped out, and deposits of debris impeded the relief effort from accessing isolated areas and delivering supplies of food and water. The March 28 earthquake has added to the region's misery.Prior to the latest calamity (the March 28, 2005 earthquake on Nias Island), the number of dead and missing from the tsunami was close to 219,000, with another 500,000 homeless. Unlike other affected countries, the UN says Indonesia is the only affected country where the aid response is still in the initial emergency and recovery phase. Some areas within the province and outlying islands are yet to be accessed due to the sheer build up of debris across access roads and aircraft landing areas. Damage includes: 1.3 million homes and buildings; 8 ports and 4 fuel depots; 85% of the water and 92% of the sanitation system; and 120 km of roads and 18 bridges. Aceh is closed to tourism and permits are needed for anyone entering the area.

The World Food Program estimated that it fed 500,000 displaced or affected people in Indonesia in February - up from the January figure of 330,000. Health risks are high, though plentiful measures are in place via local and international medical teams on the ground.The Acehnese are reportedly quite wary of foreigners taking advantage of their plight. Over 50,000 Indonesian troops, plus 4,478 foreign troops from 11 countries are currently on the ground in Aceh, plus thousands more in ships off the coast. As for aid workers, 3,645 were recently registered at the UN compound, but the list is believed to be far from complete. There have been several reports of tensions regarding control and distribution of aid.It is without any doubt that Indonesia was the worst hit by the earthquake and the resulting tsunami. The epicenter of the Earthquake was located some 160km west of Sumatra and nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh.
Indonesia's Ministry of Health has confirmed 166,320 dead but this is not the final count because most regions are still inaccessible and reports are slow. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that up to 100,000 are missing. In addition, the UN estimates that 655,000 people are homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province.Northern Sumatra took damage from both the earthquake and the tsunami. However, most of the damage came from the tsunami that struck the coastal regions of the Aceh and the North Sumatra provinces. Ten metre tall waves passed the northern tip of Sumatra to turn southwards towards the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast.Aircrafts that have flown over the Aceh province report of a virtually destroyed coastline. Concrete pads are all that is left of substantial structures in numerous town and villages.The western coastline is virtually inaccessible because the only road along the coast has been disrupted due to the destruction of dozens of bridges and much of the road being washed away or blocked by mud.Many of towns on the western coast are hence cut off from road from any airport or port, resulting in relief efforts resorting to helicopters or boats. For instance, in the town of Meulaboh virtually all the bridges are destroyed and most of asphalt roads are awash with mud.
Officials in Indonesia acknowledge they were forced to make crude estimates of the death toll due to the scale of the devastatation and the disruption of civil governance. They have been forced to use such measures as counting the number of bodies in one mass grave and multiplying that by the number of such plots. In other cases, they estimated the population of a village, counted the survivors and assumed the rest are dead. The scale of the disruption of civil governance can be witnessed from the fact that 1400 policemen have yet to report in. The entire provincial government of Aceh, with its capital at Banda Aceh is at a near collapse with the deaths of the governor, provincial legislators, and numerous government workers.
More than 30,000 deaths have been confirmed in Banda Aceh alone. Over one thousand bodies have been found littered on the streets and they were placed in mass graves without any identification as officials tried to prevent the sanitation situation from worsening.The nearby town of Leupung has been obliterated by the tsunami. Nothing is left standing there and the estimated number of survivors is placed between two and seven hundred out of an original population of ten thousand.Other towns affected include Calang, Meluboh, Teunmon and numerous others. Most villages are simply destroyed or are too remote.