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Indonesian Flood Victims Still In Camps As Homes Buried In Mud
Banda Aceh (AFP) Jan 4, 2007 Thousands of people who fled flash floods on the Indonesian island of Sumatra two weeks ago are unable to return home as their villages are buried under mud, aid workers said Thursday. Some 400,000 people escaped the floods, with 365,335 people displaced in Aceh province alone as whole villages were swallowed and homes washed away. In the worst-hit district of Aceh Tamiang, more than 12,500 houses and 75 schools were destroyed along with 460 kilometres (280 miles) of road, the official Antara news agency said. "There are no more floods (in Aceh), but residents' homes are still covered with mud up to one meter (more than three feet) deep, so they have to remain in camps," Indonesian Red Crescent spokesman Dharma Wijaya told Antara. "The people cannot clear the big tree trunks that cover almost 80 percent of their villages," Wijaya said from Kuala Simpang, the capital of Aceh Tamiang. The government has blamed illegal logging as one of the causes of the deadly floods, which were triggered by torrential rains, and mudslides and pledged to intensify efforts to replant forests. Rescue workers have managed to reach all parts of Aceh province, which was worst hit by the floods, but drinking water is still a problem. "Clean water is scarce in Aceh Tamiang as people's water wells are filled with mud," Aceh provincial spokesman Nurdin Joes told AFP. British charity Oxfam has sent health teams to monitor the situation. "We are working together with other NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to supply clean water for people in the area," Aceh Oxfam spokesman Yon Thayrun told AFP. Local Prosperous Justice Party volunteer Mustafa said most refugees were concentrated in Tenggulun and Tamiang Hulu districts, with around 4,000 people registered. "Many other organisations are here distributing aid, including international organisations such as Oxfam, Save the Children and other NGOs," he said. Relief workers had faced problems with slow and limited supplies, as well as access difficulties due to the floods and landslides which destroyed roads and bridges in Aceh and neighbouring North Sumatra. Evacuees were being accommodated in government buildings, schools and tents, while others have found shelter with relatives and friends.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links A world of storm and tempest Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Living Coral Reefs Provide Better Protection From Tsunami Waves
Princeton NJ (SPX) Jan 04, 2007Princeton NJ (SPX) Jan 04, 2007 Healthy coral reefs provide their adjacent coasts with substantially more protection from destructive tsunami waves than do unhealthy or dead reefs, a Princeton University study suggests. Initially spurred by the tsunami that devastated the coastlines of the Indian Ocean two years ago, a team of scientists developed the first-ever computer model of a tsunami strike against a reef-bounded shoreline, using a volcanic island as an example. |
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