Indonesia's Health Ministry on Monday raised the death toll in the December 26 earthquake and tsunami to 94,000, as rescue workers intensified efforts to remove rotten corpses across the devastated province of Aceh. A ministry official announced that up to 1,375 other people were still missing in the country, with at least 1,609 injured and nearly 272,000 homeless. Indonesia was the hardest hit of all the countries in Asia affected by the disaster and officials have estimated the death toll could top 100,000 in that country alone. Monday's death toll shows a jump of more than 14,000 from previous tally. Across the region, the death toll was at least 140,000 according official tallies. The biggest death toll was reported in Banda Aceh, the devastated provincial capital, where a total of 30,000 people, or nearly one-third of the 94,081 total death toll. Next was Aceh Jaya district along the western coast of Aceh, where 20,500 people perished, Health Ministry data showed. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters that Indonesia and the countries in the region plan to set up an early warning system for such a disaster. "Indonesia and other neighbouring countries plan to set up an early warning to prevent natural disasters, including earthquake and tsunamis," Yudhoyono said. "This is very important and would be a kind of pre-emptive measure." Relief workers said the death toll from the western coast of Aceh would increase further, saying that only around 23,000 out of 50,000 residents living there were listed as survivors so far. U.S. helicopters were flying in food and water from the military airport in Banda Aceh and from an aircraft carrier off the coast. Injured refugees from remote areas, some with cuts all over their bodies, could be seen being evacuated on stretchers. "Went out today and it's unbelievable. Some areas, all that remains are foundations of a few houses. And were bringing in injured people every day," Rear Admiral Doug Crowder, Commander of the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, told reporters at the airport. --more 1322 Local Time 1022 GMT
