Indonesian rescuers used helicopters to supply food and medicines to survivors of an tsunami in Sumatra today, as the death toll from the disaster and a volcanic eruption in Central Java rose.
Survivors in remote parts of the Mentawai Islands, where waves reached 400 meters inland after a 7.5-magnitude quake, are dependant on airdrops in the absence of roads and docks for ships, Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency said.
The death toll rose to 408 an official at the nation's disaster management agency, said.
"Some villages are so remote they don't have roads linking them, while some have no docks and the water is too shallow for even smaller ships to approach," Mr Prakoso said.
"Helicopters are the most effective means." The 10ft tsunami swept away houses along the Mentawai coasts, leaving survivors stranded without food, clothes and medicines for a fourth day.
Helicopters' reach is limited as they must refuel in Padang after every trip, while bad weather hampers relief efforts, Mr Prakoso said.
Padang, the provincial capital of West Sumatra, is about 240 kilometers north of Mentawai.
Indonesia is also struggling with the devastation caused by this week's eruption of Mount Merapi in central Java, which killed more than 30 people.
The volcano erupted again on Friday, sending hot ash down its slopes, but no further casualties have been reported.
Bad weather is forecast, which will make it more difficult to fight disease and keep people warm and fed, Dave Jenkins of SurfAid International, a Mentawai-based independent aid group working with the government, said.
Rescuers are delivering tents, food and masks to the evacuees. The volcano continued to spew hot ash clouds, making plans to evacuate cattle from the mountain's slope too dangerous, Oka Hamid, at the Red Cross Indonesia's Yogyakarta branch, said. Some villagers have been going home to feed their cattle, he said.
Agencies