Tsunami survivors pick up the pieces on Java coast

PANGANDARAN, Indonesia, July 20 (Reuters) Survivors of the Java coast's tsunami were trying to pick up the pieces of their lives today, despite repeated aftershocks that have been shaking pasts of the island and spreading fresh fear.

Although tens of thousands displaced by the disaster remained in temporary shelters, officials and aid workers said they were generally getting adequate care.

In the early morning hours in the beach town of Pangandaran, fishermen combed through debris, searching for nets and equipment lost when a tsunami crashed ashore late on Monday, leaving at least 550 dead in its wake.

Parts of brightly painted fishing boats broken in the disaster could be seen sticking out from the rubble of red-tile roofed houses.

One general store in Pangandaran's town centre had re-opened on Wednesday, and more were expected to follow today.

The operator of a guesthouse on the outskirts of the tsunami-hit area said she had never closed.

''I stayed open right through,'' said Agus, 40. ''I think tourists will come back.'' However, many refugees remained in the hills behind the town, the hardest-hit along a 300-km stretch of coast seriously affected by the tsunami.

Asked by Reuters TV when he would go back to his home, one refugee said: ''We are waiting for the government to say it's safe.'' Around 50,000 people were displaced by the disaster, either because their homes were destroyed or from fear of more quakes and waves to come. Muhamad Robi, an officer at the national disaster centre, said 275 people were missing and 400 injured.

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