By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
MEULABOH : Post-tsunami Meulaboh is sinking at an alarming rate,
geologists and non-governmental organisations warn.
With the start of the rainy season, residents also fear floods may
destroy some of the reconstruction work.
Markets once lined with dead bodies are now open for
business.
Fishing boats have been repaired and fishermen are once again happy
with their daily catch.
The sound of celebration, unheard here in a long time, is back as
some men had who lost their wives to the tsunami remarry and lives
are rebuilt.
But many fear flooding will wash all these away.
Indonesia's Geographical Department and Technological Assessment
Unit has confirmed that some parts of Meulaboh have sunk by 0.4 to
1.2 metres in the last six months.
And many parts of dry land are now underwater.
The situation is worse in nearby Samatiga.
Said Leigh Cromwell of International Friendship Summit, an American
NGO in Samatiga, "We've had some engineers come in. They believe
the island is sinking from 1 to 3 metres. Our walkway used to have
2 metres of coverage; now as you can see it has half a metre and
this has happened in 4 to 6 months. And our steps -- we have four
steps that are under the sand; we lost one step this week."
Much of the paddy fields in Samatiga are now rivers.
Once a rice farmer, Ibnu Abbas is now a fisherman.
It is now the month of September and the beginning of the first
rainy season following the tsunami.
Massive volumes of water are expected to flow down from the
mountains and the locals fear that this will cause flooding.
This is because most of the river mouths have been sealed by sand,
which was deposited there during the tsunami.
Said TA Dadek, district head of Meulaboh, "For this time the
government doesn't have plans for the flood yet because of funding.
In the newspapers, (you see) so much money for Aceh; but I'm local
government, I'm sub-district head, I feel no money in my level of
government. We hope that NGOs can make some planning for the
situation if floods are coming here."
Concern over the possibility of flooding is also causing Singapore
NGOs to relook plans for the construction of a tsunami memorial at
ground zero in Meulaboh.
Said Tay Kheng Soon, architect of the Tsunami Memorial Mosque, "It
looks as though the area immediately around the memorial mosque
which we are going to build doesn't flood. But it floods some
distance away so I am going to propose to build a bund along the
side, so that would hopefully keep the sea at bay. But it's an
unknown. Nobody knows to what extent there is going to be more
settlement because this is a seismic zone."
The locals had spent weeks digging an opening to allow flood waters
to flow out.
Instead, seawater is flowing in.
So work is underway to re-seal it before the sea wreaks havoc
again. - CNA /ct