SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
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Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
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Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
- Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago
Philippine president announces new gas find in waters facing the disputed South China Sea
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the discovery of a new natural gas deposit near an existing gas field in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, which could shield his country from a potential power crisis.
The discovery of the gas reservoir northwest off Palawan province was “significant” and could eventually supply power to more than 5.7 million households annually, Marcos said Monday.
The undersea reservoir is estimated to contain about 98 billion cubic feet (2.7 billion cubic meters) of gas. Initial tests showed 60 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic meters) of gas could be extracted each day from the well, Marcos said without providing other details including when commercial production could start.
“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come,” Marcos said. “Aside from the natural gas, the discovery also includes condensate, which is a high-value liquid fuel.”
The new gas deposit, called Malampaya East 1, was discovered by a Philippine consortium about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) east of the main Malampaya gas field, where commercial gas production started more than two decades ago and was projected to considerably decline in a few years.
The Malampaya gas to power facility has generated more than 20 percent of the electricity to Luzon, the most populous northern Philippine island region. In 2023, Marcos extended an exploration contract in Malampaya by 15 years.
Experts have predicted Malampaya could run out of gas in a few years, which has sparked fears of a potential power crisis in Luzon, where the bustling capital and main financial and business district is located.
The offshore gas field lies within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, a 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometer) stretch of water from a country’s coastline where it has exclusive rights to explore and harness resources under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Philippine efforts to explore for oil and gas in another offshore region, the Reed Bank, has been stalled for years because of opposition from Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the area along with most of the South China Sea. The Reed Bank also lies in the fringes of the South China Sea west of the Philippine island province of Palawan.
Vietnam’s oil and gas exploration in the disputed region also has been opposed by China. Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has reinforced its presence including coast guard and naval patrols in the disputed waterway in recent years.
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have been involved in the region’s long-simmering territorial standoffs.
The discovery of the gas reservoir northwest off Palawan province was “significant” and could eventually supply power to more than 5.7 million households annually, Marcos said Monday.
The undersea reservoir is estimated to contain about 98 billion cubic feet (2.7 billion cubic meters) of gas. Initial tests showed 60 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic meters) of gas could be extracted each day from the well, Marcos said without providing other details including when commercial production could start.
“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come,” Marcos said. “Aside from the natural gas, the discovery also includes condensate, which is a high-value liquid fuel.”
The new gas deposit, called Malampaya East 1, was discovered by a Philippine consortium about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) east of the main Malampaya gas field, where commercial gas production started more than two decades ago and was projected to considerably decline in a few years.
The Malampaya gas to power facility has generated more than 20 percent of the electricity to Luzon, the most populous northern Philippine island region. In 2023, Marcos extended an exploration contract in Malampaya by 15 years.
Experts have predicted Malampaya could run out of gas in a few years, which has sparked fears of a potential power crisis in Luzon, where the bustling capital and main financial and business district is located.
The offshore gas field lies within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, a 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometer) stretch of water from a country’s coastline where it has exclusive rights to explore and harness resources under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Philippine efforts to explore for oil and gas in another offshore region, the Reed Bank, has been stalled for years because of opposition from Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the area along with most of the South China Sea. The Reed Bank also lies in the fringes of the South China Sea west of the Philippine island province of Palawan.
Vietnam’s oil and gas exploration in the disputed region also has been opposed by China. Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has reinforced its presence including coast guard and naval patrols in the disputed waterway in recent years.
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have been involved in the region’s long-simmering territorial standoffs.
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