INDONESIAN TSUNAMI KILLS 113, HUNDREDS MISSING

TSUNAMI HITS INDONESIA ISLANDS
KILLING 113; SCORES MORE MISSING

JAKARTA (AP) - Indonesian authorities scrambled to deal with two deadly disasters on Tuesday after a tsunami and volcanic eruptions struck in separate regions of the vast Indonesian archipelago. In the first, rescue workers and fishermen scoured for survivors through waters west of Sumatra Island after a powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami killed at least 113 people and left hundreds missing, including at least eight foreigners, officials said. Thousands more were homeless. The tsunami, triggered by a 7.7-magnitude undersea quake, slammed into the remote Mentawai Islands late Monday, wreaking havoc in villages in the south of the island chain and, the authorities believe, sweeping scores out to sea.
The tsunami reached as high as 10 feet and advanced as far as 2,000 feet inland, according to officials at the Health Ministry’s crisis center. The scale of the tsunami’s destruction only became clear Tuesday as rescuers and local officials reached the islands, which are separated by a strait from the Sumatran mainland.

“The search really isn’t on land,” said Ade Edward, from the Disaster Management Agency. “We’ve instructed fishermen to help search at sea.” He added: “We don’t think the victims have been swept too far out to sea, so it’s not that difficult a search. So far, we’ve found 15 bodies at sea and a number of survivors. We’re not keeping a toll on how many survivors we find.” Among those missing Tuesday as a result of the tsunami were eight Australian citizens and five Indonesian crew members aboard a tourist boat that was at sea when the tsunami struck. Meanwhile, on the island of Java, to the east, thousands of villagers were fleeing multiple eruptions of Indonesia’s most volatile volcano, Mount Merapi, after it began spewing clouds of hot ash in the early evening Tuesday.


A tsunami that pounded remote islands in western Indonesia following an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra killed at least 113 people and scores more are missing. Reports of damage and injuries are steadily climbing. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered the 10-foot (three-meter) wave that washed hundreds of homes into the rough sea. The spirit of compassion and love for God included the care and attention of the body, mind and soul of those brothers and sisters who are suffering by different calamities. It is necessary to bring them emergency services, but also a lot of encouragement and spiritual inspiration to elevate them from their so painful situations.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The balance of the body, mind and soul is what is required for real spiritual health. For holistic health it is required that we give health to the body, the mind and the soul. And for this purpose we started Bhaktivedanta Hospital, named after our beloved guru ACBSP (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), who taught us to be instruments of compassion for the body, mind and soul. ... Bhaktivedanta Hospital has helped with emergency problems. ... During the tsunami some years ago also, Bhaktivedanta Hospital was there to help those people both physically emotionally and spiritually. And what we found is what people appreciated the most was the spiritual encouragement and wisdom they were receiving on how to deal with the losses of loved ones and with the injuries of their bodies. Our spiritual care reaches out not only to the patients but to the relatives and friends of the patients who are so deeply affected by the trauma and tragedies that have come into their lives. And we have found that it had a great help physically and emotionally and spiritually to these people as well.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
“Interview with Joshua Greene”
http://radhanathswami.info/
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/