Lending a hand to Indonesia

A number of countries have offered substantial amounts of aid to assist Indonesia following the devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Sumatra.

For its part, just days after its own territory of American Samoa was battered by an earthquake and a major tsunami, the United States is sending $300,000 worth of emergency aid and has pledged $3 million in aid plus use of a Hercules transport aircraft and its crew.

Meanwhile, South Korea has also pledged $500,000 in aid and will send a 43-person search-and-rescue team. South Korea offered something similar in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, though some in the K-blog commentariat tore that apart.

Other countries have also made substantial offers. Japan will send a team of sixty search-and-rescue workers and twenty-three medical personnel, along with emergency goods like tents, sleeping mats, blankets, and power generators.

The Netherlands, Germany, China, and the European Union are all sending large sums of money in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also sending personnel and supplies.