Poor weather hampered efforts to get relief aid to survivors on Indonesia's isolated Mentawai Islands battered by an earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
Heavy rain and high tides made it difficult for boats to deliver supplies.
Disaster relief officials said they planned to use helicopters in the effort but reports indicate there might not be enough of the aircraft to reach many of the devastated areas, the BBC reported Friday.
The area was rocked by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami earlier this week. More than 400 people were confirmed dead, but officials said many bodies hadn't been recovered. At least 300 people were reported missing. Nearly 486 structures were destroyed.
West Sumatra's Gov. Irwan Prayitno said Mentawai islanders never received a tsunami warning shortly before the earthquake struck Monday, the Antara News Agency reported.
The National Disaster Mitigation Board said in broadcast interviews some people didn't get the warning because of the remoteness of the area and transportation difficulties and communications limitations.
The result, Prayitno said, was that not all people living in Mentawai's coastal areas were evacuated to safer places after the earthquake struck and triggered the tsunami soon after.
The tsunami washed over 27 communities, destroying six, Antara reported.
Sadegugung village chief Tasmin Saogo told the BBC island residents have started to bury their dead.
"In the village of Sadegugung, there aren't any body bags. In the end, we just lifted them and we buried 95 people today," he said. "There are still many bodies lying about, underneath coconut trees and in other places."
UPI
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