New Zealand has provided an initial NZD$450,000 in emergency funding to support the immediate relief and reconstruction effort following the Mentawai tsunami, Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced today.

"Reports out of Mentawai show that the situation is worse than initially thought. The numbers of fatalities are rising and the latest official figures put the death toll at 311, and 400 missing," Murray McCully said.

"Hundreds of people have been injured and more than 4,000 families have had to leave their homes.

New Zealand has committed an initial 40,000 New Zealand dollars to assist with rapid assessment and initial emergency relief in the Indonesian islands of Mentawai, hit by an earthquake and tsunami earlier this week. This relief will be provided through SurfAid International, which is working alongside the Mentawai District Government and provincial disaster management office.

New Zealand stands ready to assist Indonesia in the wake of this disaster and the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java, said New Zealand's Aid Development Counsellor in Jakarta, Kirk Yates.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully and his Indonesian counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, launched an Indonesia-New Zealand Friendship Council during Mr McCully’s bilateral visit to Jakarta recently.
“The Council brings together a group of key individuals in Indonesia who will use their influence to help strengthen our bilateral relationship,” said Mr McCully.

New Zealand Aid Programme has committed more than three million US dollars in principle to support development and poverty reduction in Papua and West Papua Provinces.