Fresh natural disasters add to Aceh miseries

Fresh natural disasters add to Aceh miseries

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): No less than 600 people in strife-torn
Aceh have fled their homes in the past few days after parts of
the province were ravaged by cyclones, landslides and floods.

Violence, meanwhile, continues to plague the area. A total of
nine people have been killed since Wednesday, including three
Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers in Aceh Besar and North
Aceh.

A strong cyclone wrecked seven houses in the coastal area of
Tibang in the capital Banda Aceh on Thursday noon, leaving at
least 30 people homeless.

No fatalities were reported in the incident.

Witnesses said strong winds whipped up huge waves that broke
on to the shore, crushing the houses.

Early on Tuesday morning, a landslide struck Rawe village in
Takengon district in Central Aceh after a 20-hour downpour in the
area.

At least five houses were destroyed when mud poured down on
the village at about 5 a.m., forcing hundreds of villagers to
leave their homes and move toward higher ground.

"We heard a thundering noise and suddenly the ground was
shaking," Nurhayati, a survivor, said.

To the villagers' surprise, no one was injured in the
incident. According to Rusli Wahid, chief of the social agency in
Aceh, three tons of rice and food were delivered on Thursday to
the refugees, who have taken shelter in nearby government
offices.

Last week, five houses were also destroyed when floods hit
four districts in South Aceh, namely Sawang, Meukek, Manggeng and
Tangan-Tangan. The districts are located in the foothills of
Leuser mountain national park, which hosts protected forests and
rare species.

"Heavy rain fell in the districts and it seems that since
there has been illegal tree felling on the slopes of Leuser
mountain, the ground was bare and a flood occurred," a local
official said.

Local officials have complained about rampant illegal logging
in the Leuser area, allegedly with the support of military
officers.

Meanwhile, Brimob officer Sarmidi Erik, 28, was shot dead and
a colleague wounded on Wednesday in an ambush by suspected
separatist rebels in the village of Blang Nisam in North Aceh,
North Aceh Police Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal said.

In a separate incident, Pvt. R. Sinaga and Pvt. Paryo were
shot dead when a group of armed men attacked Ingin Jaya Police
station in the relatively calm Aceh Besar district, near Banda
Aceh, on Wednesday night.

"Pvt. Paryo died in hospital on Thursday," Aceh Besar Police
chief Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said. (50/51/edt)