Tsunami stories: WWF urges 'green' reconstruction

Better coastal development could have limited the impact of the deadly tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, says the environmental organisation WWF, urging "green" reconstruction of devastated coastlines.

"Places that had healthy coral reefs and intact mangroves, which act as natural buffers, were less badly hit by the tsunami than those where the reefs had been damaged and mangroves ripped out and replaced by prawn farms and poorly planned beachfront hotels," said WWF Asia-Pacific director Isabelle Louis.

WWF says once immediate humanitarian and health needs were met, reconstruction should involve environmentally sustainable coastal planning, such as not building within a safety zone delimited by the high-tide mark.

Quake rocks Sumatra

A strong earthquake sent people scrambling from their homes in Banda Aceh yesterday, but no injuries or damage were reported in the Indonesian city that was devastated by a massive quake and tsunami two weeks ago.

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 5.13am (11.13am NZ time) off the northern coast of Sumatra according to the US Geological Survey.

Babies named Tsunami

A couple in south India have named their son Tsunami after the 2-month-old survived the killer waves which lashed their beachside hamlet.

Fisherman Stalin and his wife Jesurani, who use only one name, ran for safety carrying their baby when the tsunamis hit their coastal village in the Colachel area of Tamil Nadu state.

In a similar tale of hope overcoming despair, a woman in Port Blair, capital of India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, also named her prematurely born boy Tsunami.

Military rethinks order

Indonesia's armed forces want to scrap the purchase of fighter jets in favour of cargo planes and helicopters suitable for relief efforts.

Defence Minister Yuwono Sudarsono said yesterday that the disaster in Aceh province highlighted the shortage of transport planes such as helicopters and Hercules C-130s.

Fish on the menu

Seafood is back on the menu in Malaysia despite rumours that fish have fed on corpses of tsunami victims.

Scare stories about tainted fish were affecting the income of fishermen in Penang island and the northwestern coast, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said, adding that fish from those areas was safe to eat.