Antara News, Friday, October 29, 2010
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The US government has pledged US$2 million in aid to assist the victims of a tsunami in Mentawai islands and Mount Merapi`s eruption in Central Java.
The US government was deeply concerned about a string of natural disasters engulfing Indonesia, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel said on Friday.
"For the sake of humanity, we want to assist Indonesia. America is Indonesia`s friend. We very much care about what has happened in Indonesia," Marciel said.
A tsunami triggered by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated the Mentawai islands off the western coast of Sumatra on Monday night. Official figure put the death toll in the tsunami at 394 as of Friday morning, while 312 others are still missing.
The tsunami also injured at least 267 people and forced the evacuation of 12,865 others.
The West Sumatra Provincial Disaster Mitigation Board said on Thursday the tsunami also destroyed four elementary school buildings, one junior high school building, four churches, 426 houses, and 10 bridges, while more than 200 houses had minor damage.
Meanwhile, Mount Merapi which erupted on Tuesday has killed 34 people and seriously injured 10 others.
The world`s most active volcano erupted again at around 04.00 p.m. on Thursday, spewing hot clouds of ash down its slopes.
A total of 17,776 people in Sleman district, Yogyakarta, and 13,757 people in Magelang district, Central Java, have so far evacuated to safer places following the eruption.
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