Storm damages houses in Thousand Islands.

A tropical storm passed through two subdistricts in the Thousand Islands regency Saturday, destroying four houses and damaging 275 others, an Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) official said.

"We received reports that Kelapa Island subdistrict was the worst hit, with 262 houses affected. In the Harapan Island subdistrict, 13 houses were damaged," the chairman of the Thousand Islands branch of the PMI, Jamaluddin Panganro, said Saturday.

He said most of the damaged houses had lost roof tiles in the storm.
"About 300 residents were forced to leave their homes temporarily," he said.
"Reports we received indicated that most of these people were staying with relatives or neighbors.
"Two people received minor injuries when they were hit by flying objects," Panganro added.
"We have sent 300 relief packages to the area and we have set up a public kitchen," he said.

Panganro said more aid packages would be sent Sunday morning. He said more accurate data on the situation would be available Sunday after he visited the affected areas.
Traveling from Jakarta to Pramuka Island, the main island in the regency, can take up to three hours. Harapan and Kelapa islands are located north of Pramuka Island.

Before the tropical storm hit Saturday, the PMI had already been sending aid packages to several islands in the regency due to food shortages.

"Many fishermen have stayed at home for two weeks. Bad weather has prevented them from going fishing," Panganro said.

_{©The Jakarta Post}