Indonesia tidal waves displace thousands
Pastor Dale Morgan
Indonesia tidal waves displace thousands*
25 May 2007 15:18:00 GMT
Source: Action by Churches Together (ACT) - Switzerland
Elisabeth Gouel
Geneva, May 22, 2007
From Thursday last week, three days of tidal waves caused thousands of
residents to flee their homes and destroyed hundreds of houses, fishing
boats and tourist spots in eleven Indonesian provinces. The massive
waves began last Thursday and rose up to 7 meters (22.9 feet) high
striking the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. Weather officials have
said the waves were a result of the accumulation of winds in one spot
and are not associated with any annual weather patterns.
One person was killed by the waves, hundreds of fishing boats were
destroyed, and in five of the affected provinces houses were destroyed
or badly damaged. West Java province was the worst hit, with at least
200 houses swept away by the tidal waves along the coast of Pelabuhan
Ratu. In the District of Agam, West Sumatra, 500 houses were severely
damaged and around 2,300 persons are temporarily displaced. Displaced
persons are currently living under tents and in public buildings
including mosques, schools and government offices.
In Aceh Barat, roads are flooded and 375 households are temporarily
displaced to safer areas as a result of the damage to their homes. The
waves forced tourists to flee the popular beaches on the island of Bali
and also wiped out hundreds of fishing boats in the Jimbaran area, which
is famous for its fisheries industry.
Three members of the global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT)
International working in Indonesia, Church World Service (CWS)
Indonesia, YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) and Yayasan Tanggul Bencana di
Indonesia (YTBI), report that they are coordinating their responses to
this latest disaster in the region.
CWS, UNICEF and the Spanish Red Cross plan a joint response in Aceh that
will include CWS assisting with sanitation facilities. CWS is completing
an assessment there and may distribute non-food items. CWS will continue
to monitor the situation in affected areas.
In the badly hit coastal areas of West Sumatra where the three ACT
members have on-going rehabilitation programs in response to the 2004
Indian Ocean Tsunami (ACT appeal ASRE51), the progress of some projects
has been disrupted.
For example, supplies of cement, sand and wood in YEU and CWS warehouses
had to be moved to safety away from the rising waters. In Aceh Jaya
housing construction is affected as the transportation of materials has
temporarily stopped as roads are blocked. The YTBI housing project in
Suak Pantebrueh, Samatiga came to a halt as the area was flooded by as
much as a meter of water and the house reconstruction teams were forced
to temporarily abandon the project site. Sand for the construction of 13
houses was completely washed away. In the same area, YTBI livelihood
recovery projects were affected with damage to carpentry machines and
wood, 20 fish ponds were flooded in Lhok Bubon, and two boats were
damaged from the fishermens' group. The impact of these losses is still
being assessed. Transitional shelters constructed by YEU for families
displaced by the 2004 Tsunami were not affected as they were built on
stilts.
All three ACT members are continuing to monitor the situation, though no
indication is being given at this time that Rapid Response funding or an
ACT Appeal will be requested.
ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to
save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT
Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC)
and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.