JAKARTA, Dec 8 — Regions hit by floods that killed hundreds in Indonesia were suffering from food and medical shortages, authorities said, as elephants pitched in on Monday to help clear up debris.

Tropical storms and monsoon rains have pummelled South-east and South Asia this month, triggering landslides and flash floods from the rainforests of Indonesia’s western Sumatra island to highland plantations in Sri Lanka.

“Everything is lacking, especially medical personnel. We are short on doctors,” Muzakir Manaf, the governor of Indonesia’s Aceh province, told reporters late Sunday.

Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said 961 people in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra had been killed, while 293 were missing. More than a million people were displaced, the agency said.

In Pidie Jaya, a district in Aceh badly affected by the floods, four elephants from a nearby training centre picked up large pieces of rubble with their trunks and helped shift stuck vehicles.

“We brought four elephants to clear the debris from the houses of the communities that were swept away by the flood,” Hadi Sofyan, the head of a local conservation agency, told AFP.

“Our target is to clean the debris near the residents’ houses so they can access their homes,” he said, adding the elephants would be used for the rest of the week.

The downpours and subsequent landslides throughout western Indonesia have injured at least 5,000 people and devastated infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.

In the city of Banda Aceh, long queues formed for drinking water and fuel, and prices of basic commodities such as eggs were skyrocketing, an AFP correspondent said.

Costs to rebuild after the disaster could run up to 51.82 trillion rupiah (RM12.8 billion), the BNPB said late Sunday.

Extra troops 

In Sri Lanka, the military deployed thousands of extra troops to aid recovery efforts on Monday after a devastating cyclone caused a wave of destruction and killed 627 people.

More than two million people — nearly 10 per cent of the population — have been affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst on the island this century.

Sri Lanka is expecting further heavy monsoon rains this week, topping five centimetres in many places, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. It issued warnings of further landslides.

Army chief Lasantha Rodrigo said 38,500 security personnel had been deployed to boost recovery and clean-up operations in flood-affected and landslide-hit areas, nearly doubling the initial deployment.

“Since the disaster, security forces have been able to rescue 31,116 people who were in distress,” Rodrigo said in a statement.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake unveiled a recovery package, offering 10 million rupees for victims to buy land in safer areas and rebuild.

The government will also offer livelihood support and cash assistance to replace kitchen utensils and bedding and to buy food.

It is not clear how much the relief package will cost the government, which is still emerging from an economic meltdown in 2022 when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to finance even essential imports.

Dissanayake has said the government cannot fund reconstruction alone and has appealed for foreign assistance, including from the International Monetary Fund.

Seasonal monsoon rains are a feature of life in South Asia and South-east Asia, flooding rice fields and nourishing the growth of other key crops.

However, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable, and deadly throughout the regions. — AFP 

BANDA ACEH, Sumatera: Presiden Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto meluluskan peruntukan tambahan sehingga empat bilion rupiah (kira-kira AS$239,000) bagi setiap daerah dan bandar yang terjejas akibat banjir dan tanah runtuh di Sumatera, lapor agensi berita ANTARA.

Keputusan itu dibuat selepas Menteri Dalam Negeri, Tito Karnavian memohon dua bilion rupiah (AS$119,793) bagi setiap wilayah terjejas semasa mesyuarat penyelarasan mengenai tindak balas bencana Sumatera di Aceh Besar, Aceh, semalam.

"Sebanyak 52 daerah dan bandar berada dalam keadaan kewangan yang teruk. Mungkin kita boleh membantu dengan menyediakan dua bilion rupiah kepada kerajaan wilayah untuk membantu rakyat," kata Karnavian kepada presiden ketika mesyuarat itu.

Prabowo kemudian bersetuju untuk menggandakan jumlah itu. "Anda minta dua bilion rupiah untuk setiap daerah, saya setuju untuk memberi mereka empat bilion rupiah," katanya.

Beliau seterusnya mengarahkan Karnavian mengenal pasti wilayah yang paling teruk terjejas dan memutuskan untuk memperuntukkan sokongan tambahan.

"Untuk wilayah yang paling teruk terjejas, salurkan 20 bilion rupiah (AS$1.19 juta)," tambah Prabowo.

Presiden itu turut menggesa pemimpin wilayah untuk terus berusaha meringankan penderitaan rakyat akibat banjir dan tanah runtuh yang meluas, sambil memberi jaminan sokongan penuh daripada kerajaan pusat.

Dalam mesyuarat itu, Karnavian menekankan cabaran kewangan yang dihadapi kawasan terjejas, dengan menyatakan bahawa dana luar jangkaan semakin berkurangan.

"Satu wilayah melaporkan mereka hanya mempunyai 75 juta rupiah (AS$4,492) dalam dana luar jangkaan," katanya.

Beliau menjelaskan bahawa sementara kerajaan pusat menanggung keperluan utama seperti makanan, bahan api, elektrik dan keperluan lain, pihak berkuasa wilayah perlu menangani keperluan tambahan bagi mangsa bencana.

Karnavian berkata beliau telah mengeluarkan surat pekeliling yang mengarahkan wilayah yang mempunyai lebihan dana supaya membantu wilayah lain yang terjejas bencana.

Arahan itu berjaya mengumpulkan 34 bilion rupiah (AS$2.04 juta) untuk diagihkan kepada kawasan terjejas.

Menurut Badan Nasional Pengurusan Bencana (BNPB), setakat 8 Disember, bencana itu meragut 929 nyawa, menyebabkan 274 orang hilang dan menjejaskan jutaan penduduk di 52 daerah dan bandar di Aceh, Sumatera Utara dan Sumatera Barat.

– BERNAMA-ANTARA

TOKYO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck northeastern Japan late Monday night, prompting the suspension of ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

No abnormalities have been reported by nuclear plants in Hokkaido or in the northeastern prefectures of Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima, public broadcaster NHK reported.

In Aomori and Hokkaido, there have been reports of several non-life-threatening injuries. The Aomori prefectural government said that around 2,700 homes were left without power, Kyodo News reported.

The temblor occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time at a depth of 50 km, measuring upper 6 on Japan's seismic scale of 7 in the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, triggering a tsunami warning for coastal areas of Aomori, Iwate and Hokkaido prefectures, said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The waves are expected to be up to 3 meters high on the Iwate Prefecture coast, the central Pacific coastal areas of Hokkaido and the Pacific coast of Aomori Prefecture, the JMA said, urging people in affected areas to immediately evacuate to higher ground.

Waves of 50 centimeters were observed in the town of Urakawa, Hokkaido, at 12:21 a.m. local time Tuesday and in Kuji Port, Iwate Prefecture, at 12:10 a.m. local time, the JMA added.

According to Japan Railways, Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train services in northeastern Japan have been suspended in both directions between Fukushima Station and Shin-Aomori Station due to the quake.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the government was gathering information on casualties and property damage. The government set up a crisis management office at the Prime Minister's Office in response to the earthquake.

TOKYO: Gempa bumi kuat menggegarkan pantai utara Jepun lewat malam tadi dengan agensi meteorologi negara itu melaporkan beberapa ombak tsunami mencecah kawasan pantai, selain laporan kecederaan oleh media tempatan.

Gempa berukuran 7.6 pada skala Richter itu melanda perairan Misawa di pantai Pasifik Jepun hingga mengakibatkan penduduk dipaksa keluar dari kediaman masing-masing selain menyebabkan ribuan rumah terputus bekalan elektrik.

Agensi Meteorologi Jepun (JMA) mengeluarkan amaran tsunami dengan satu ombak dilapor melanda sebuah pelabuhan di wilayah Aomori, lokasi terletaknya Misawa.

Menurut JMA lagi, beberapa ombak lain turut mencecah pantai dengan ketinggian sehingga 70 sentimeter. Awal pagi ini, agensi itu menarik balik amaran tsunami berkenaan, lapor agensi berita Kyodo.

Bagaimanapun JMA mengekalkan beberapa nasihat aras lebih rendah untuk kawasan tertentu di utara Jepun selama beberapa jam, sebelum ia turut dibatalkan.

Agensi pengurusan kebakaran dan bencana berkata, 23 orang cedera, termasuk seorang yang parah.

Kebanyakan mangsa dihempap ​​objek jatuh, lapor penyiar awam NHK, sambil menambah bahawa beberapa orang cedera di sebuah hotel di Hachinohe dan seorang lelaki di Tohoku cedera apabila keretanya terjatuh ke dalam lubang.

NHK memetik seorang pekerja hotel di bandar Hachinohe, Aomori sebagai berkata terdapat kecederaan akibat gegaran kuat yang berlaku pada 2.15 petang waktu tempatan itu.

Kajian Geologi Amerika Syarikat (USGS) merekodkan pusat gempa pada kedalaman 44 kilometer. Rakaman langsung menunjukkan serpihan kaca bertaburan di atas jalan.

Menurut NHK, penduduk Hachinohe dilaporkan keluar mencari perlindungan di dewan bandar.

Kyodo pula melaporkan kira-kira 2,700 rumah di Aomori terputus bekalan elektrik di samping terdapat banyak laporan kebakaran. Gegaran itu turut dirasai di hab utara Sapporo dengan penggera kecemasan berbunyi di telefon pintar penduduk.

Seorang wartawan NHK di Hokkaido menggambarkan gegaran mendatar selama kira-kira 30 saat yang menyebabkan beliau tidak mampu berdiri ketika gempa berlaku.

Sebelum itu, JMA menjangkakan tsunami setinggi sehingga tiga meter akan melanda pantai Pasifik Jepun.

Jurucakap kerajaan, Minoru Kihara, menggesa penduduk kekal berada di tempat selamat sehingga amaran ditarik balik.Kerajaan dalam sidang media berasingan turut memberi amaran kawasan terbabit boleh mengalami gegaran kuat dalam beberapa hari akan datang.

Akibat gempa yang menggoncang sebahagian besar utara Jepun itu, perkhidmatan kereta api laju Shinkansen antara Fukushima dan Aomori ditangguhkan dengan pengendali memaklumkan sebahagian perkhidmatan dijangka disambung semula pada pagi ini.

Kihara berkata, setakat ini beliau belum menerima sebarang laporan mengenai sebarang 'keabnormalan' daripada dua loji tenaga nuklear di utara Jepun, sambil menambah siasatan masih dijalankan di kemudahan nuklear lain.Pada 2011, gempa berukuran 9.0 magnitud mencetuskan tsunami yang mengorbankan 18,500 orang sama ada mati atau hilang serta menyebabkan kerosakan serius termasuk peleburan teras (meltdown) yang teruk di loji nuklear Fukushima.

Tidak lama selepas gempa semalam, Tohoku Electric Power menerusi hantaran di X memaklumkan peralatan keselamatan di loji nuklear Higashidori di Aomori dan loji Onagawa di wilayah Miyagi tidak menunjukkan sebarang keabnormalan.

Jepun terletak di atas empat plat tektonik utama di sepanjang bahagian barat Lingkaran Api Pasifik dan antara negara paling aktif secara tektonik di dunia.

Negara kepulauan yang mempunyai kira-kira 125 juta penduduk, mengalami kira-kira 1,500 gegaran setiap tahun. Kebanyakannya adalah gegaran kecil, namun tahap kerosakan berbeza bergantung pada lokasi dan kedalamannya dari permukaan bumi.

Gempa bumi amat sukar diramal, namun pada Januari lalu sebuah panel kerajaan meningkatkan sedikit kebarangkalian berlaku gegaran besar di Palung Nankai di luar pesisir Jepun dalam tempoh 30 tahun akan datang kepada 75 hingga 82 peratus.

Kerajaan kemudian pada Mac mengeluarkan anggaran baharu yang menyatakan 'megagempa' sedemikian serta tsunami susulan berpotensi menyebabkan sehingga 298,000 kematian dan kerosakan mencecah AS$2 trilion (RM8.23 trilion).