Lampuuk, once a bustling beach, now a ghost coast

Lampuuk, 20 kilometers west of Banda Aceh, was popular among tourists for its waves, clean white sand, grilled fresh fish and coconut drinks. Lampuuk, which was inhabited by some 5,500 people before the tsunami, is now nothing but rubble. Only about 750 residents survived the tsunami. The Jakarta Post's Nani Afrida examined how the survivors of Lampuuk are dealing with the tragedy, and combed the area for any signs of life. The following is the first in a series or articles about Lampuuk and its survivors.

On the Sunday of the tsunami, Nurhayati, 45, went shopping at a nearby market in Keude, Aceh Besar regency. Not knowing the horror that was coming, she left her house that morning after preparing breakfast for her three children.

She realizes now that that was the last time she would see her children, who were killed in the tsunami.

"All three of my children were killed. Luckily, though, my husband Ibrahim survived," said Nurhayati at the Lham Lhom camp, about five kilometers from her village.

Nurhayati is one of only about 40 women from Lampuuk who survived the disaster. About 5,000 other residents of Lampuuk were lost in the tsunami.

Most of the survivors are between the ages of 15 and 40. The young and the old had little chance to survive as the large waves crashed down on top of the village, which sits next to the once- beautiful beach.

"The tsunami brought us to Lham Lhom. Almost all of the residents of Lampuuk are gone," said Ibrahim.

Nothing was left intact in Lampuuk, about 20 kilometers west of Aceh. There is no more white sand and no more tourists coming to enjoy Lampuuk's beach.

For foreign tourists, Lampuuk was a place to surf, while for locals it was a place to enjoy grilled fish and coconut drinks at stalls along the beach.

Most of the residents of Lampuuk worked as fishermen, with others running food stalls.

After the tsunami, there are few signs of life and none of the former beauty of the beach.

Surviving villagers are still too afraid to return to the village.

"Go home? Where? We do not have homes anymore," Nurhayati said.

Some men ventured back to the village only to find a horror scene, with hundreds of corpses littering the area.

"We don't think any volunteers have reached our village to remove the corpses," said Zul, 40, who lost his entire family in the tragedy.

He said he and other survivors were too traumatized to return to the village and remove the bodies themselves.

"Please, help us and take care of the corpses," said Zul.