ID :
83537
Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/83537
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US OFFICIALS OBSERVE W SUMATRA RELIEF EFFORTS
Jakarta, Oct. 7 (ANTARA) - US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Ted Osius and US Navy Rear Admiral Richard Landolt traveled to Padang Tuesday to offer assistance wherever possible in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in West Sumatra.
They also extended their deepest condolences to the Indonesian people, according to information on the official website of the US embassy in Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Led by Fauzi Bahar, mayor of Padang City, they toured the Humanitarian Assistance Rapid Response Team (HARRT) Field Hospital, which has started treating earthquake survivors. The hospital is able to treat 300 to 400 patients per day.
Relief efforts continued today with 45 metric tons of emergency supplies arriving from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, jerry cans and generators will be distributed by the Indonesian Red Cross.
The US government has also deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that is working alongside the Indonesian government.
The United States has pledged $300,000 in immediate aid, plus another $3 million for later.
On Friday, US President Barack Obama offered his condolences for the deaths and devastation caused by the earthquake, in a telephone conversation with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama also reiterated the US offer to help in relief operations. President Obama lived in Indonesia for several years as a child.
The United Nations said the death toll from the 7.6 quake was at least 1,100. Indonesian officials say at least 770 people have been killed, but they expect the figure to climb as thousands are still believed buried beneath rubble.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake along the same fault line caused a tsunami in Aceh that killed more than 200,000 people in several countries. ***
They also extended their deepest condolences to the Indonesian people, according to information on the official website of the US embassy in Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Led by Fauzi Bahar, mayor of Padang City, they toured the Humanitarian Assistance Rapid Response Team (HARRT) Field Hospital, which has started treating earthquake survivors. The hospital is able to treat 300 to 400 patients per day.
Relief efforts continued today with 45 metric tons of emergency supplies arriving from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, jerry cans and generators will be distributed by the Indonesian Red Cross.
The US government has also deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that is working alongside the Indonesian government.
The United States has pledged $300,000 in immediate aid, plus another $3 million for later.
On Friday, US President Barack Obama offered his condolences for the deaths and devastation caused by the earthquake, in a telephone conversation with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama also reiterated the US offer to help in relief operations. President Obama lived in Indonesia for several years as a child.
The United Nations said the death toll from the 7.6 quake was at least 1,100. Indonesian officials say at least 770 people have been killed, but they expect the figure to climb as thousands are still believed buried beneath rubble.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake along the same fault line caused a tsunami in Aceh that killed more than 200,000 people in several countries. ***
