Aid moves to thousands displaced by Indonesia floods
Source: Reuters
(Changes dateline, adds village colour and comment, effect on coffee transport) By Tarmizy Harva BUKIT RATA, Indonesia, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Government and aid agencies were moving food, water and medical supplies on Thursday to hundreds of thousands forced into temporary shelters by floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island. But in Bukit Rata village in Aceh province's hard-hit Tamiyang regency, where 64 families have pitched tents on the roadside and higher ground, not everyone was satisfied. "We have just complained to the district office about the lack of assistance. We know our hamlet is supposed to receive 25 sacks of rice but only 20 sacks arrived," said displaced resident Suroso Kasimin. Water has receded but houses were still covered by thick mud. Some residents were trying to cleaning up their homes. The government has been using helicopters to get aid to the most isolated points in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra, while military planes and lorries shuttle relief supplies to other areas. The confirmed death toll in Aceh and neighbouring North Sumatra province has remained around 100 in recent days, but figures for the displaced have climbed to above 400,000. "Displaced people in Aceh are at 365,335, while in North Sumatra (they are) at 44,189," said Laksmita Novira, a U.N. aid spokeswoman in Aceh. More than 200 people were missing in Aceh alone, she said. Medication and doctors had been sent to help the displaced, according to Rustam Pakaya, the health ministry's crisis centre chief. "So far, there is no serious health problem," he said. Lina Sofiani, a UNICEF officer in Jakarta, told Reuters: "Today, a child protection team from UNICEF's Banda Aceh base will go to east Aceh. Three diarrhoea cases were reported". The government was sending additional food to flood-affected areas, and polluted wells were being treated with chlorine and temporary camps fogged with insecticide, the health ministry's Pakaya told Reuters. TWO YEARS AFTER TSUNAMI The flooding came two years after a giant tsunami left about 170,000 dead or missing in Aceh, a remote but resource-rich province whose capital, Banda Aceh, is 1,700 km (1,060 miles) northwest of Jakarta. Aceh and North Sumatra produce palm oil, coffee and rubber, while Aceh has major offshore natural gas fields and onshore processing plants. Traders say washed out bridges and damaged roads have hampered delivery of raw materials to factories and pushed up prices. Some coffee shipments from plantations to ports have also been affected but not enough to hit prices, an industry official said. Effects from the flooding have been minimal on output and processing of palm oil and and natural gas. Authorities blame heavy rains and the effects of deforestation for the latest destruction. Lack of adequate forest cover leaves the ground less able to absorb excess water. Flooding has also hit parts of peninsular Malaysia, across the Strait of Malacca from Sumatra, killing nine people in the worst-hit state of Johor. Four others are missing. The floods, which the Malaysian government described as the worst since 1969, have displaced more than 60,000 people in the states of Johor, Pahang and Malacca. Malaysia's Meteorological Department said rains in Johor and southern Pahang were expected to continue until Sunday. (With additional reporting by Mita Valina Liem and Muara Makarim in Jakarta and Syed Azman in Kuala Lumpur)
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