The second tsunami from the mountain hits Aceh Province.
As we know, the word ‘tsunami’ means a huge and giant wave of water from the sea. Moreover, it happened in 2004 in Aceh province. But if the huge and strong water comes from the mountain, it will be the weird sound of disaster, “tsunami.” Actually, in this case, it's the super rare cyclone Senyar, which hit Aceh 3 days ago. Heavy rain during 4 days, from 24 Nov until 27 November without stopping, brought huge amounts of water and much of the woods to the flash flood of the hills. Now, without realizing it, more than a hundred people were killed.
After 4 days of hard and nonstop rain, the effect was the disaster of a flood in most of the Aceh region.
On the way home to Blangpidie, approximately a 7-hour drive from Banda Aceh, I was trapped on the west coast of Aceh for almost 12 hours. On the west coast Aceh was not really as bad as North Aceh; however, there were 3 areas that were impassable because they were full of flood and mud, 2 in Aceh Barat and 1 in the Nagan Raya district.
The passengers of the van, including me, got trapped for 12 hours in the car. Thus, I felt anxious about terms and conditions that I never expected. As time goes by, we contact some people of relatives or friends to get to know more about the situation in front of us. Actually, there are many vans also trapped together with us, and after getting some updated news from the truck driver who came from the opponent side, our driver believes the condition was good enough to pass and continue the trip. After all of the van drivers decided they had better go before rain. Unless rain makes conditions get worse.
One point to another point passed from the flood area. During the way home I personally saw how terrible the flash flood was that hit residents’ houses, which were full of mud and water. All damage reminds me about the Aceh tsunami disaster in 2004 and how terrible the power of water brought debris and mud together in a short time. The aftermath of this disaster caused pain and suffering and full damage; for instance, not only cars and motors and trucks got stuck, but also bridges are fully damaged.
The hardest areas hit by flash floods are northern areas such as Bireun where my big family comes from, Pijay, North Aceh, Langsa, and Tamiang. Those areas were so scary; a hit of water was full of damage, causing a blackout and no water, no food, no gas and oil, and no connections. Furthermore, those areas got isolated because all bridges that connected one village to another were damaged. Terms of condition right now are so unpredictable and impassable that it is impossible to supply more aid to those areas.
Full of pain and sorrow during the disaster in Aceh that sometimes makes me depressed and hopeless. But this time, we have to work together and come back stronger. Through introspection of our fault, we are able to change focus on the environment to keep maintaining and preserving the forest to avoid another disaster in the future. I strongly believe Aceh will be better.