Tidal swell leaves hundreds homeless in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Some 1,276 North Acehnese were forced to abandon their villages after losing their homes to a tidal swell.

Antara quoted a public relations officer in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, as saying on Wednesday that the tidal swell, brought on Sunday by a full moon, had hit a number of coastal villages, with those in Banda Sakti district being the worst hit.

The official, Iskandar Nasri, said seven houses in Hagu Teungoh had collapsed, while dozens of others were destroyed from waves and strong winds which residents said came on "suddenly".

In Tanoh Ano village, Muara Batu district, 31 kilometers to the west of Lhokseaumawe, 35 houses were lost and at least 197 people had to flee to safety.

Thirty-five families were also evacuated from Pusong Baru village in Dewantara district, 18 kilometers from Lhokseumawe.

Iskandar said Mobil Oil Indonesia Inc. and the local administration had started relief operations.

Muara Batu district head Sunan Ibrahim said a tremendous amount of soil had been swept to sea along the coast of Tanoh Ano as far as one kilometer inland and measuring 100 meters in width.

In Central Java, flash floods and a landslide, caused by incessant rain and strong winds, killed two people and damaged 12 houses and a mosque in Banjarnegara, Purbalingga and Cilacap regencies on Tuesday.

Col. Iskandar, chief of the Banyumas Police Precinct, said that the two victims, Kusmiati, 23, and her child Indra, 5, were killed in a landslide in Sidahayu village, Majenang subdistrict.

He added that Kusmiati's husband, Syahrudin, survived the landslide.

"I couldn't save them because I was also struck down by the landslide which suddenly hit our house," Kusmiati was quoted as saying.

Iskandar said the incessant rains over the previous three days had caused the Citanduy and Cibanganjing rivers to overflow, inundating thousands of hectares of paddy fields and numerous villages.

He said 45 families, whose houses were damaged in the disaster, had been evacuated to safety in nearby areas.

School activities have been stopped temporarily in Banyumas in order to wait for the flood to subside. (45/rms)