Meulaboh
| Meulaboh | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
  Meulaboh | |
| Coordinates: 4°8′N 96°7′E / 4.133°N 96.117°ECoordinates: 4°8′N 96°7′E / 4.133°N 96.117°E | |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Province | Aceh |
| Regency | West Aceh Regency |
| Time zone | WIB (UTC+7) |
Meulaboh (or Moulabouh) is the capital of West Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Meulaboh is among the hardest hit areas by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Being just 150 km from the epicenter of the earthquake, Meulaboh was hit by tsunami, leaving the estimated deaths of 40,000 people out of 120,000. [citation needed]
Geography
Meulaboh is about 245 km southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Meulaboh is located in westhern part Sumatra island.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake event
"The casualty rates in Meulaboh defy imagination," said Aitor Lacomba, Indonesian director of aid group International Rescue Committee. "Tens of thousands need immediate assistance there."
A damaged airstrip was cleared, enabling International Red Cross medical teams from Japan, Spain and Singapore to begin treating survivors. Red Cross engineer Sara Escudero said "There is a strong smell of putrefaction and, whilst body retrieval has commenced, it can be assumed that there are still hundreds, possibly thousands of bodies remaining underneath the debris".
The Red Cross said it would use Meulaboh as an aid staging post for the Sumatran west coast. The government of Singapore deployed two helicopter landing ships there.
A urban legend was created around 2004-05 claiming that 400 Christians were not allowed to celebrate Christmas and went to a hill to celebrate. They were spared. This was proven false by Snopes.com.[1]