Some villages on the western coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province have been wiped from the map. In others, only a few houses remain. Bridges crossing estuaries have been swept away. The force of the tsunami waves of Sunday was so great that the water only stopped when it reached the foot of tree-clad mountains as far as 2 km inland. In Meulaboh, near the epicentre of a massive undersea earthquake that triggered the tsunami, water has flattened large parts of the town, where officials fear 40,000 of the 120,000 residents have perished. Many parts of remote Aceh, 1,700 km northwest of Jakarta, have yet to be reached. Supplies can only be flown into Meulaboh by helicopter. The coast road from provincial capital Banda Aceh, 175 km to the north and itself still reeling from the waves, has been washed away in many places.Meulaboh is 150 km from the epicentre of Sunday’s quake, the world’s most powerful in 40 years.The stench of death hangs in the air days after the water crashed through the town. Many bodies remain on the streets or under rubble because soldiers without special equipment are doing clearing and body collection by hand. Five-thousand body bags were flown to Meulaboh on Wednesday alone, officials have said. Some residents wander around dazed, clinging to their meagre belongings, trying to comprehend how they were caught in Sunday’s waves of death. Those lucky to survive lie injured on army cots. The area closest to the beach has virtually been washed away.Still standing, however, is Meulaboh’s majestic mosque, its maroon-coloured domes rising from the destruction. —Reuters
