Tropical Storm Hits Sumatra

SIRIRAK ANANCHAROENKIJ

Sumatra Island- A tropical storm destroyed more than 58 villages in Sumatra Island in Indonesia on Thursday and 20000 households out of power.

The Indonesian Meteorological Department indicated at 10am that the intensity of the gusts which were heading west would shut the electricity down and destroy the households. The storm was moving 64 meters per second which is a very dangerous storm. They suggested people to evacuate within 4 hours on Thursday. As expected the forecast became a serious problem when the storms hit Sumatra Island which is an island in Western Indonesia. Also, according to the Meteorological Department, there would be another storm in the next 12 hours.

The police report showed that the storm has destroyed more than 58 villages or 20000 households and also cut down all the electricity in Sumatra Island. The cars and vehicles were left obstructively on the road. Besides, the public transportation has been closed, as well as the roads that were cut off due to the trees that fell down. There was a report of 246 people dead. Also, hundreds of people were reported missing. The searching teams are working hard to find them in the areas which were severely affected such as, in Berastagi and Medan which were in the center of the storms.

"We were staying in the house as usual when the storm destroyed my house. We ran out of the house as it was ripping out into pieces. And now we got no place to go." a woman said in grief.

          The officials have evacuated the residents from Sumatra Island after the first storm vanished with the concern of the next storm within 12 hours. However, there were many people who decided to stay due to the worry of their homes. Officials have been convinced them to move to a safer place. The Indonesian government has announced the Island as a storm risk area.