More than 60 dead as 110,000 flee Indonesian floods
Flash floods have killed more than 60 people in Indonesia with hundreds of others missing and more than 110,000 forced to flee their homes as whole villages were washed away.
The tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh on Sumatra island was the worst-hit, with at least 60 dead in one district alone as the region prepared to mark the second anniversary of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean catastrophe.
Villages have been swallowed by flood waters up to eight metres (more than 26 feet) deep following a week of torrential rains.
"We have not been able to evacuate more victim's bodies since this morning. The number so far has been 60 bodies from Aceh Tamiyang district," Ghufran Zainal Abidin, the local chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party, told AFP from the worst-affected area on Sunday.
"The Aceh Tamiyang area is surrounded by water and the only way we can get around is by boat," said Abidin, who is helping to coordinate the flood relief effort.
Entire villages have been washed away in Aceh Tamiyang, where the flimsy houses were built from bamboo and wood.
"I have received reports that Limo Mukur village has been washed away by the current and we have not found residents of that village," provincial spokesman Nurdin Joes told AFP.
The Kompas daily noted six of 17 districts in Aceh had been affected by the floods, with Aceh Tamiyang on the border with North Sumatra province being the worst hit.
North Aceh deputy district head Nasruddin told AFP "one person was killed, four reported missing and more than 110,000 people fled their homes in North Aceh."
Earlier, officials said hundreds of people had been reported missing in the district. The local capital Kuala Simpang is still cut off from rescue teams, said Abidin.
Thousands have fled their homes and taken refuge in state-run camps.
The army and Indonesian Red Cross were rushing aid supplies to the area.
"Two army helicopters have been doing runs today (Sunday), dropping food in isolated areas. We also sent medical supplies and staff to the most needed places," Aceh military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dudi told AFP.
In hard-hit Langkat district of neighbouring North Sumatra, rescue workers struggled to reach those in need, with waters still nearly a metre high (three feet) in some places.
Rampant illegal logging in Gunung Leuser National Park is one cause of the heavy flooding in North Sumatra and Aceh.
Illegal logging in the national park was also blamed for flash floods in North Sumatra in 2003, which killed hundreds of people.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has blamed destruction of the country's forests for floods and landslides during the rainy season and droughts during the dry season, reported The Jakarta Post.
He promised the government would intensify efforts to replant forests, allocating four trillion rupiah (440 million dollars) annually beginning next year for the work.
Last June, floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains killed more than 200 people in South Sulawesi province. Separate floods killed more than 20 people and forced 40,000 people from their homes in Borneo in the same month.
AFP
