An IOM health team and aid convoy transporting an estimated 20 tons
of food, bottled water and essential Non Food Items, such as
emergency plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans, has left the
provincial capital Banda Aceh for the Central Highland district of
Bener Meriah where thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
remain cut off by floods and landslides.

"At the request of the Indonesian government and in close
coordination with the UN and local authorities, IOM is focusing its
relief effort on the Central Highlands districts of Bener Meriah,
Aceh Tengah and Gayo Lues," says Paul Norton, who is coordinating
IOM’s relief effort from Jakarta. "The extensive flooding and
landslides have displaced many thousands of people who urgently
need the most basic forms of assistance." 

Initial assessments carried out by IOM teams in Beneh Meriah and
Aceh Tenga districts show that 23 villages have been partially
destroyed by torrents of raging muddy waters up to three meters
high.

In the Syiah Utama sub-district of Beneh Meriah, more than 3,600
IDPs remain marooned in urgent need of food, medicine, blankets and
shelter.  

In the district of Gayo Lues, some 4,300 people remain homeless
after more than 300 houses were washed away. IOM assessment teams
also found that fourteen bridges and four schools were destroyed in
the sub-districts of Pinding, Blang Kejeren, Pantan Cuaca; Rikit
Gaib and Tripa Jaya.

Many areas in the Central Highlands remain only accessible by
motorcycle or foot and IOM expects the number of IDPs to increase
in the coming days as more remote areas become accessible to
assessment teams. 

"Our aim is to deliver as much humanitarian assistance as
rapidly as possible," says IOM’s Norton. "We have staff and
offices in the Central Highlands and are currently working with
local authorities and established partners to set up central
distribution points and systems to reach those most in need. We
have also deployed an emergency response team to assist staff
already in the field in these remote areas."

IOM has established ten district-level Information, Counselling
and Referral Service (ICRS) offices around Aceh province to deliver
individually-tailored livelihood support services and small
business training to thousands of former combatants from the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM), as well as providing managed peace dividend
grants to hundreds of communities.

"Thanks to its network of ICRS offices, IOM is present in more
than 350 villages in the flood affected areas. These offices are
being used to support a broad relief effort," says Paul Norton.
"They will also prove invaluable once the recovery effort
begins."    

An estimated 350,000 persons have been affected by widespread
floods since 22 December 2006. More than 100 people have died and
several hundreds are still unaccounted for.

The flooding comes two years after the tsunami that left some
170,000 dead or missing in this impoverished province on the
northern tip of the island of Sumatra.

IOM has requested USD 250,000 from the UN’s Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and is seeking additional funding
for its emergency relief operations.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Norton

IOM Jakarta

Tel: +62 21 398 38 529

Mobile +62 811 895 651

E-mail "mailto:pinorton@iom.int">pinorton@iom.int 

Bruno Oudmayer

IOM Banda Aceh

Tel: +62 651 7410 690

Mobile +62 812 699 0081

E-mail: "mailto:boudmayer@iom.int">boudmayer@iom.int