Banda Aceh

An undersea earthquake rattled Indonesia’s Aceh province on Friday, sparking panic among residents, although there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage and casualties. The 5,9-magnitude quake struck at 3.02pm local time and was centred about 70km south-west of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

A strong earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook Indonesia’s tsunami-deva ed province of Aceh on Saturday causing residents to flee their homes, an official said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The undersea quake hit at 10.30am local time.

A year after the tsunami laid waste to Aceh, tens of thousands of people still live in a vast archipelago of townships made of scrap wood spit back by the sea. Along the coast of the Indonesian province, little remains of villagers but swampland and ankle-high rubble.

Some will light candles after travelling long distances to where loved ones were snatched; others might offer simple prayers. But across nations ravaged by the tsunami, all will remember. Memorials will on Monday mark the one-year anniversary of the day the ocean rose and smashed into Indian Ocean coastlines.

The conditions in Nurma Sulaiman’s tiny room in one of Nusa’s six barracks have just become a little more cramped. But neither she nor her husband and four children are complaining, because the cause of their discomfort is the arrival of a sewing machine.

The multinational relief effort in parts of Indonesia’s tsunami-hit Aceh province is chaotic, according to an official report seen on Thursday, as the number presumed dead continues to rise. ”The west coast of Aceh continues to receive aid and assistance in a chaotic manner,” says the report.

Just more than a month after an epic tsunami ravaged southern Asia, children and teachers in Indonesia’s worst-hit Aceh province on Wednesday made an emotional return to school, where thousands of desks of classmates and colleagues sat empty. "I don’t think he’s coming," whispered one boy when his best friend did not show up.

Rebels in Indonesia’s tsunami-hit Aceh on called Thursday for ceasefire talks to help the aid effort as new restrictions on foreign relief workers in the province prompted the United States to demand clarification from Jakarta.
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