OCHA Situation Report No. 3
Indonesia: Floods in Aceh
28 December 2006


This situation report is based on information received from the RC/HC 
Office in Jakarta, Indonesia and the Office of the UN Recovery 
Coordinator in Aceh and Nias (UNORC).

General Situation

1.  More than 200,000 persons are estimated affected by widespread 
floods since 22 December 2006.  The confirmed death tool has been 
reportedly now above 260 with some people still missing. The United 
Nations is responding to the request by the Government of Indonesia to 
provide emergency relief to the regions that have been affected.

2.  While IDPs have started returning home in some areas where the water 
is receding, in particular in North Aceh, the estimated number of 
displaced has now risen well over 200,000 as more information on the 
affected areas, particularly Central Aceh, has started coming in.

3.  The access to the estimated 8,500 IDPs in affected regions in 
Central Aceh remains critical.

4.  According to the preliminary data from the district office, nearly 
204,000 persons have been displaced out of the total district population 
of approximately 247,000. 11,187 households are in IDP camps. 4,460 
houses have been heavily damaged; nearly 6,000 lightly damaged and 
1,6000 washed away. Three sub-districts remain inaccessible. There are 
extensive damage to road and bridges. There is a severe fuel shortage.

5.  Electronic communication with Indonesia is difficult, possibly as a 
consequence of the 7.2 Earthquake and aftershocks that occurred on 
December 26 in the region of Taiwan (and which disrupted a number of 
undersea telecommunication cables).

National Response

6.  At the central government level, BAKORNAS coordination meeting 
decided that the government's air assets (1 Hercules C130, 2 Super Pumas 
and 10 TNI helicopters) would be made available to SATKORLAK's 
operations.

7.  As of 24 December, the provincial Government and PIM (Indonesian Red 
Cross) distributed food and tents in all affected areas that are 
accessible.

8.  On 27 December, BRR 's director and board members have visited the 
affected areas, accompanied by the UN Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and 
Nias.

International Response

9.  The UN/Donor/NGO meeting chaired by the Humanitarian Coordinator, 
a.i. took place on 26 December in Jakarta. The UN HC encouraged donors 
for flexibility in funding to allow quick impact response. The relief 
community is currently relying temporarily on the stockpiles that are in 
country for tsunami recovery and other on-going programmes, which will 
have to be replenished in near future. A CERF request will be prepared 
by 02 January.

10.  WFP Shipping Service Team, monitoring the road access, has 
confirmed yesterday that the Medan-Kuala Simpang road is now open. 
However there have been reports on trucks still not being able to pass 
through on this road.

11.  UNICEF, WFP, UNORC, CARE, IFRC and IRC, in close collaboration with 
PMI, are actively engaged in food and NFI distribution and monitoring.

12.  Due to lack of access and communication, the situation in Central 
Aceh had been unclear. The Government has expressed concern over lack of 
information and assistance to the region. At the request of the 
government, 1.3MT of WFP food was flown in by the TNI helicopter to 
Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues on 26 December.

13.  IOM's assessment in this region on 22-26 December, shows that there 
are urgent needs in Bener Meriah, in particular in the Syiah Utama 
sub-district which has been the most severely affected. There are 3,600 
IDPs isolated and requiring immediate assistance. 12 villages are still 
inundated and cut of by landslides. Six bridges on the road to Samar 
Kilang gave been destroyed, leaving only one bridge.

14.  In Gayo Lues, approximately 4,290 people are isolated in 5 
sub-districts. The damage report so far indicated 320 houses destroyed, 
14 bridges, 4 schools and 138 hectares of arable land.

15.  There are around 560 IDPs in Aceh Tengah, which has become 
accessible.

More information

This situation report and maps of the affected areas are available on 
OCHA's Reliefweb: http://www.reliefweb.int


Tel:  +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel: +41-22-917 20 10

UNORC Banda Aceh:
  Ms. Satoko Nakagawa
    Mobile: +62-811-825.214,
    Email: nakagawas@un.org

Desk Officers:
  GVA - Mr. Guido Galli Direct Tel. +41-22-9173171
  NYC - Ms. Ah-Young Kim, Direct Tel. +1-212-963-5131

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, Direct Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Direct Tel. + 1-917 367 5126

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