Lutheran Relief Workers Report Progress in Nias Island's Disaster Recovery
by Ed Thomas
April 21, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman for Lutheran World Relief (LWR) says road access and utilities are just beginning to be restored on southeastern Asia's Nias Island, located near the epicenter of last month's devastating aftershock to the December earthquake that struck the region and precipitated the deadly Indian Ocean tsunamis.LWR communications director Jeff Rasmussen says ministry partners on Nias are giving some positive reports on recovery progress since the March 28 earthquake. He notes that a recent communication reported that electric power has been restored to the island's capital city of Gunung Sitoli, and the road to the airport, which is vital for landing airlifts of relief supplies, has been repaired.
Also, the main east-west travel corridor on the island is again passable. But Rasmussen says conditions are far from ideal in the capital, with 80 percent of the buildings destroyed and devastation spread across the rest of the tsunami-ravaged island. "They're still having aftershocks," he observes. "They had three last weekend; so people are scared -- very scared, and still living in tents. And it's the rainy season over there, so there are lots of challenges ahead. People are still searching for loved ones."
The LWR spokesman says while it might seem like a cliché, money is what is needed and what will continue to be an ongoing need in the relief effort for years to come. "We've had a once-in-a-generation tsunami," he points out, as well as, "by all intents and purposes, a very major 8.7 earthquake. And now we have volcanic activity. The one thing that allows us to respond specifically to each of those is cash, because we need certain things to respond to each."
Another major need, Rasmussen adds, is for believers to pray for the devastated survivors, the relief workers, and for the relief and recovery efforts in Nias. In fact, the LWR communications director says all of Southeast Asia has been overwhelmed by the recent chain of disasters and will require Western financial support and the prayers of believers to continue their recovery.
LWR and other relief ministry help is on site, but the road to restoration is a long one. Rasmussen says he hopes Christians around the world will continue to remember the relief work in the devastated areas of the tsunami disaster zone, even when those efforts are no longer being covered daily in the news media.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
