Survivors relate grim stories after flood

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Langkat, North Sumatra

The devastating flood in Langkat regency, North Sumatra, that killed more than 100 people, has ingrained sorrow into the hearts of survivors.

Adi Lukman, 27 and his wife Amanah, 25, could hardly come to terms with the events that took their eldest daughter Sherly Pensil Pania away from them, as a flash flood struck the hilly area where the family live in Bahorok, on Sunday night.

The flood wrenched Sherly, 5, from her mother's grasp. As Amanah watched the strong currents swept her child away. Sherly's body was found by the Search and Rescue Team (SAR) a day later.

Amanah recounted that the flood had initiated in the lower areas, due to rain on Sunday night. She had seen several houses were already inundated by water, but she believed that the water was not high and manageable.

She said that her husband left the house to help a neighbor fix his house's roof.

But, water slowly seeped into Amanah's house. She remembers waking up her two children.

"They wrapped their arms around me, I carried them as they clung to my body. I was about to bring them out from our home... Suddenly our house collapsed. It was hit by water and logs from above," said Amanah.

Amanah said that they were trapped in the house as her leg had been caught under a wooden log.

"As I was about to free my leg Sherly was lost from my grasp. She cried help me mother, help me," said Amanah, weeping.

On Monday, as her daughter's body was about to be buried Amanah lost control, unable to contain her grief.

"Forgive me, Sherly," she cried, while trying to hug her daughter's body, which was already wrapped in a white shroud.

Sartik, 44, survived the flood after a six-hour fight against the strong currents and the dangers of the huge logs, which at any moment might have pounded her body. She was finally found in a paddy field some 15 kilometers away from her house.

Villagers first saw her staring into the sky, pinned under a log. She was tightly holding a gold bracelet.

"The bracelet was the only belonging she had. She had not wanted to sell it as she had bought it with great effort from selling food," Darna, her son, told The Jakarta Post at the location. According to Darna his family had initially stayed in their house when the flood swept the area. They were about to flee when a strong current tore them apart.

Darna had managed to save himself by climbing into a cave -- usually used by tourists to enjoy Bukit Lawang's scenic views -- but he was unable to rescue his mother.

"That night, cries for help were repeatedly heard from people who had been carried away by the flood. After fighting the currents for two hours I managed to reach a cave. By that time many had already sought refuge there," he said.

Darna's father, the 48-years old Darno, was also found alive.