Indonesia was one of the worst hit areas in South Asia with some 94,000 deaths after the tsunami struck and tens of thousands still missing. The largest number of deaths were reported on the west coast of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra ? closest to the epicentre of the initial quake on the morning of December 26.

Of the handful of Indonesiansliving and working in Bermuda, many of them suffered some kind of loss.

Silk restaurant Chef, Dewi Isnina said she was lucky enough to find out almost immediately that her immediate family was alright but her uncle, Suwito Bakri, is still missing.

They live along the stretch of coast that was ripped apart by the tsunamis.

"He was on a smaller island off the coast of Aceh and no one has heard from him since the tsunami hit," she said.

"My family has accepted that he is dead and they're trying to deal with the loss."

But, she said it was hard for them. "He has a wife and two children and I don't think they've accepted that he is gone."

She had planned to fly home immediately, but her family told her there was nothing she could do and that it would be better if she waited until the end of the year when her work permit expires.

"But I'm afraid," she said.

"Since this happened, I've started reading as much as I can about tsunamis and I've learnt that Indonesia sits on these two plates that are always moving and that this can, and probably will happen again ? it's very scary."

As far as relief efforts went on the Island, she said the response from the public has left her speechless.

"We are having a fund raising dinner at the restaurant this weekend and already it's almost sold out," Ms Isnina said.

Most of the staff at Silk are from areas effected by the tsunami and wanted to help those back home as best they could.

When asked about other Indonesians on the Island, she talked about her friend, also from that area of Indonesian, who still had not heard any news from her family.

"She doesn't want to talk to anyone because she's really distraught right now, but she's married to a Bermudian and they're doing everything they can to try and find out what happened to her family," she said.

She added that they would probably try and fly to the area within the next couple of days.

"But it's hard to get there because all the airports are destroyed. I don't know what they're going to do."