Indonesians return to sea, farms after tsunami

Jakarta, July 27: More than half of an estimated 45,000 Indonesians who were displaced by last week's tsunami on the south coast of Java have returned home, officials have said.

Nine days after the disaster many of those who had fled to higher ground were back working on their fields or fishing in the ocean.

Thousands of people took shelter in mosques or tents in the hills after the huge waves brought death and destruction to a 300-km (185-mile) stretch of Java's south coast.

Health ministry officials estimate about 20,000 people remain in shelters in the hills around the fishing and beach resort of Pangandaran, which took the brunt of the disaster.

''The situation is beginning to become more conducive. They have started going to sea and to paddy fields to make ends meet,'' said Rukman, head of the Indonesian Red Cross disaster response team.

''There are two kinds of displaced people. Those who evacuated because their homes were damaged and those who moved because of their fear of another tsunami or earthquake. The situation is gradually improving, but is not 100 percent normal.'' Officials said 94 people were still missing after the tsunami which is estimated to have killed 656 people.

About 40 children returned to school in Pangandaran on Monday, still only a fraction of the nearly 260 who normally attend. The children were encouraged to sing songs to relieve stress and given a lesson on how to recognise a future tsunami.

The tsunami was the latest in a string of disasters to hit Indonesia, including the huge 2004 tsunami, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods.

The lack of warning ahead of last Monday's killer waves, despite regional efforts to set up an early alert system after the massive Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, has been driving a debate over the official response in the sprawling archipelago.

Indonesia's 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity, part of what is called the ''Pacific Ring of Fire''.

Reuters