40 Families Of The Remote Indigenous Community Of West Aceh Sikundo Are Still Isolated Due To Floods

West Aceh Regent Tarmizi together with Deputy Chairman of the West Aceh DPRK Azwir had a dialogue- greeting children in the Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) of Sikundo Village, West Aceh, which was isolated for almost a week due to flash floods. ANTARA/HO-West Aceh Regency Government

JAKARTA - The West Aceh Regency Government (Pemkab) has confirmed that as many as 40 heads of families (KK) in remote areas in the Sikundo Remote Indigenous Community (KAT), Pante Ceureumen District, are still isolated after the flash flood last week.

"The current condition of the Sikundo Remote Indigenous Community is very concerning, they cannot get out of the village because road access is badly damaged and has turned into a river," said West Aceh Regent Tarmizi as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 1.

This was discovered when he and the Deputy Chairperson of the West Aceh DPRK, Azwir, visited the area on Sunday (30/11) with his entourage.

The fact that he found at the disaster site, people in the area for almost a week had been isolated and confined after access to a five-kilometer road was destroyed by flash floods.

"The existing roads have become rivers and the connecting bridges have also been cut off, the people there are completely isolated from the outside world," said Tarmizi.

If you want to get out of the village, he continued, only the village head and two people dare to go out along the river using used tires for five kilometers.

In addition to being dangerous and threatening the safety of life, he said, this condition makes the public even more worried because all access to the KAT Sikundo area is currently completely broken.

In addition, a thousand people in these remote and remote areas are currently also short on supplies of food and medicine, because they no longer have adequate food stocks.

"The stock of aid that we delivered last Sunday is only a few days away, we are worried that people will be starving there," said Tarmizi.

Tarmizi said a suspension bridge that was built after the virality of school children crossing the river via steel cables during Governor Nova Iriansyah's tenure (Pj) in 2019 has now been washed away by the flood.

"Currently to cross the river there are no boats or canoes available. Residents are forced to use car tires as a tool," said Tarmizi.

Tarmizi said access to Sikundo, Pante Ceureumen District, West Aceh Regency, must be passed by breaking through the forest to Sikundo using a 4x4 car, driven by a reliable driver-road.

The distance from Meulaboh City to Gampong Pante is about 60 km, then continued as far as 30 km to Sikundo, through the dense forest and the former RGM road. In the middle of the trip, the car was stuck several times. In fact, I thought about turning back because of the condition of the road that was almost impossible to pass.

"Alhamdulillah, coincidentally there was heavy equipment (beko) in the garden belonging to the Deputy Chairman of the West Aceh DPRK, Azwir, who helped the group continue their journey," he said.

The West Aceh Regency Government hopes that there will be assistance from the central government for the construction of roads and bridges to the Sikundo KAT.