An Indonesian man carries his son through a flooded neighborhood in Tangerang on the
outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, 27 Oct 2010
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is rushing home from a conference in Vietnam to oversee rescue efforts after twin disasters struck his country, killing more than 170 people and leaving hundreds missing.
Relief crews with planes and helicopters arrived for the first time Wednesday in the remote Mentawai islands, where whole villages were swept away on Monday by a three-meter tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake. Officials say 154 bodies have been recovered so far and about 400 others still are missing.
Officials in central Java, meanwhile, are reporting 29 people burned to death by hot ash and scalding gases when the nation's most active volcano erupted Tuesday. The dead include an elderly man known as the mountain's spiritual gatekeeper.
Almost 30,000 people were evacuated from the slopes of Mount Merapi before the eruption, but many of them have lost their homes. Authorities say more eruptions are still possible.
Rescue efforts in the Metawai islands, west of Sumatra, were hampered by bad weather that made it impossible to reach the area by air before Wednesday. Rescue crews spoke of bodies lying on the beaches and said many villages still have not been reached.
In Hanoi, Mr. Yudhoyono announced he is heading home before Thursday's start of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. He said he wants to see the condition of the victims for himself and make sure the emergency response is running well.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit Indonesia next month, sent a message of condolence and said the United States "stands ready to help in any way."
Indonesia straddles several fault lines that make the vast island chain vulnerable to volcanic and seismic activity.
A giant quake off Sumatra's coast on December 26, 2004 triggered an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, about half of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.
Mount Merapi means the "Mountain of Fire." It last erupted in 2006, killing two people. A similar eruption in 1994 killed at least 60 people, and a 1930 eruption killed 1,300.
NEWS FROM VOANEWS
