A Tornado damages 16 houses in North Aceh

Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - A tornado which hit North Aceh on Monday afternoon (June 10) has damaged 16 houses, shops, and a village head office throughout ten villages in four sub-districts.

"A tornado in North Aceh occurred yesterday at around 13.10 local time and caused 25 families to be affected," Aceh Disaster Management Agency (BPBA) chief executive Teuku Ahmad Dadek said here on Tuesday.

He said the 16 houses were severe damage due to fallen trees, five houses were lightly damaged, one village office was slightly damaged, and eight shops were lightly damaged.

The North Aceh Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reported on the location of dozens of houses in Seneudon District including three villages, namely, Matang Anoe, Cot Kafiraton, and Matang Jeuleukat.

Other sites suffering damage were in West Baktiya sub district, including Cot Paya and Cot Buket, Simpang Keuramat district in Alue Badee and Keudee Simpang, along with Tanah Jambo Aye District in Matang Jurong.

"Indeed, the houses were damaged because the majority of the roofs of the house were coated with loose iron sheeting, which flew into the air due to strong winds and heavy rains. But there were also roofs of houses hit by coconut trees," he said.

He added that the local disaster management agency has coordinated with various agencies in handling the emergency period in the affected communities.

"They (North Aceh BPBD) also helped residents clean up material in people's homes," Dadek said.

The Aceh Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the weather in Indonesia's westernmost province was affected by low pressure winds during the dry season.