Ottawa's Indonesian community awaits news after quake, tsunami

As rescuers in Indonesia continue to search for survivors of Friday's 7.5-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, many in Ottawa are worried and waiting for news from relatives back home.

Indonesian authorities are scrambling to get aid and rescue equipment into quake-hit Sulawesi island and are starting to bury some of the more than 1,200 dead, while shaken survivors flee their ruined homes in search of food and shelter.

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Most of the confirmed deaths were inPalu, a city of about 380,000, but thattolllooked certain to rise as rescuers reached devastated outlying communities.

'Too big, too hard, too fast'

Ida Rafiqahgrew up on Sulawesi, and her mother and extended family are still there.

After a few frantic phone calls,Rafiqahwas able to reach relatives, most of whom made it to higher, saferground. Her mother, who lives in the southern part of the island, is safe, but three cousins are missing and an uncle has stayed behind in the disaster zone to search for them.

Rafiqah's relatives described thetsumanias "too big, too hard [and]too fast" for manyto avoid, as powerful torrentsof muddy water deluged residential neighbourhoods.

"They are still in shock,"Rafiqahsaid."With their very eyes, they saw people being carried away in waves of mud."

Rafiqahworks with Ottawa-based charity Human Concern Internationaland was already involved in planning an autumnfundraiser for victims of this summer'sdeadly earthquake on Indonesia's Lombok island.Now the group will reconvene to findways tohelpvictims of thislatest disaster recover, too.

Embassy offering help

The Indonesian government is involved in a massive rescue and relocation operation, evacuating the area and searching among the ruinsfor both survivors and the dead.

Indonesia's ambassador to Canada,TeukuFaizasyah, said he expects tosee the death toll rise as more bodies are discovered.He said Indonesian PresidentJokoWidodovisited the area and made an early assessment of the challenges ahead, the biggest being the resettlement of the thousands of people who lost both their homes and their livelihoods.

'We know exactly the suffering of the people'

7 years ago

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Ottawa's Indonesian community is heavy-hearted at the news of the earthquake and tsunami in their homeland, according to Indonesia's ambassador to Canada Teuku Faizasyah. Faizasyah has friends in the affected region himself.

"We try our best to assist them," Faizasyah said. "It's not easy, because it's hard to ensure safety for these people who are internally displaced."

Faizasyahsaidthere are 350 Indonesians living in the Ottawa area, and the embassy will helpthose who are having trouble connecting with relatives affected by the earthquake and tsumamis.