Flash flood kills nine in Aceh

Flash flood kills nine in Aceh

Agencies, Banda Aceh

Flash floods swept through a village in the tsunami-stricken province of Aceh, leaving nine people dead and 20 missing, residents and officials said on Wednesday.

The floods, which destroyed about 30 homes in the village of Lawe Mengkudu in southeastern Aceh late Tuesday night, were caused when a river burst its banks after a day of heavy rain.

Erizal, of the Southeast Aceh district police, said nine bodies including that of a paramilitary officer, had been recovered by 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

About 18 people were injured, he was quoted by AFP as saying.

Another policeman on duty at the same office, Burhanuddin, said about 20 people were missing.

Local police chief Ali Hussein said the death toll could rise as rescue workers were looking for survivors in the rubble of several houses and mud, AP reported.

According to him, the injured people had been taken to hospital.

Many residents were asleep when the river surged, residents said.

"The water came very fast but after about 30 minutes it had already subsided," said Sahdidun Beuh, a Lawe Mengkudu resident speaking by telephone.

"When the water came, people panicked. Many were shouting 'help' and it was pitch dark," Beuh said.

He said he saw a three meter wall of water traveling at high speed towards the village.

Flooding and landslides are common in Indonesia, with environmentalists blaming illegal logging on mountainsides for many of the disasters.

Aceh was hardest hit by the December earthquake and tsunamis that killed over 220,000 people and caused widespread destruction.