Two weeks after a devastating cyclone swept across southeast Asia, thousands of people on Indonesia's Sumatra Island are still awaiting assistance. Local officials are urging the government to declare a national emergency.
00:00Entire villages disappear under might in Aceh province, at the northern tip of Sumatra island.
00:07The devastation is overwhelming.
00:10Local leaders say they are struggling to respond.
00:17To recover from all this, the district government simply doesn't have the capacity in terms of manpower, equipment or financial resources.
00:26We just really don't have the ability.
00:35The floods have crippled more than half the province, cutting off food, electricity and clean water.
00:42After two weeks of struggling in makeshift shelters, residents are urging the government to declare a national disaster and open the door to international assistance.
00:50The Aceh government has already worked with outside partners so that aid can come in.
00:57But there's a law requiring all assistance to go through the central government.
01:01And as an ordinary citizen, I'm deeply disappointed.
01:04It's been two weeks and nothing has changed.
01:06For many here, the destruction reminds them of Aceh's tsunami two decades ago.
01:11By declaring a national disaster, the government could release extra funds to help speed up recovery efforts.
01:20For now, people here are trying to rebuild their lives, with help mostly coming from crowdfunding, NGOs and neighbors outside the flood zone.
01:30In some places in central and southeast Aceh, people are still struggling to get back on their feet with very limited supplies of food and power.
01:39As the situation drags on, they are now facing the risk of starvation and disease.
01:46Floods due to cyclones are rare in Indonesia.
01:49But many say the government's response has also been inadequate.
01:52We've never been exposed with this kind of disaster before.
01:58So we need to learn from other areas, other countries, like probably from Japan, Taiwan, or other cyclone-prone areas or hurricane-prone areas.
02:10Meanwhile, thousands of people remain in shelters, hoping to soon return to their homes or what's left of them.
02:17And for many, the hardest struggle may not be rebuilding their homes, but coping with the trauma the storm left behind.
02:25I don't know where to go home.
02:28I no longer have a house or property.
02:34I just hope that the government will build us a house.
02:38That's my only wish.
02:41Abnawati and thousands of others are living in limbo.
02:45But while waiting for government relief, they must make do with whatever they have on hand.
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