AIBS National News

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today announced that the state's medical and emergency services were prepared to offer assistance to affected communities in Samoa, Tonga and the Indonesia Island of Sumatra.

"Queensland Health personnel will be on the ground working in Samoa today and we are waiting for notification of what we can do to help in Sumatra," Bligh said.

"We are hearing shocking reports of what has happened in both regions and our hearts and minds go out to these communities and their friends and families here.

"We are meeting with representatives of the Samoa, Tonga, Indonesian and other South pacific and South East Asia representatives at 12pm in the Executive Building today.

"We will listen to these communities, find out what we can do to help both here and in their countries and take any necessary action."

Queensland has sent a 25 bed mobile field hospital to the Pacific on an Australian Defence Force aircraft. This follows the Federal Government's team of medical personnel from Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, which departed at 1am this morning.

The flight also included Australian Government personnel from AusAID, Emergency Management Australia, the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The response is part of the Australian Government’s $2 million initial aid package to support Samoa in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said “the 22 personnel strong Queensland Health and Emergency Services crew included Queensland's biggest deployment so far for the Urban Search and Rescue Team.

"These officers trained hard and were the first in Australia to be certified by the United Nations for heavy urban search and rescue capability," Roberts said.

"They are one of only eight teams in the world officially sanctioned by the United Nations for these types of events."

Yesterday's tsunami devastated villages in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, with 140 believed dead and 1000 displaced. Five Australians were killed, six were injured and six more remain missing.

It is estimated that the death toll from the two earthquakes that occurred yesterday and today on the Indonesian island of Sumatra will climb into the thousands.