reports from the many small islands dotting the western coast of Sumatra, such as the islands of Simeulue and Nias, among the poorest areas in Indonesia. However, casualties seemed to be comparatively light in comparison to the mainland of Aceh. Simeulue Island Simeulue was not the tragedy many government officials feared despite its proximity to the quake epicenter. Only five of the 70,000 villagers on Simeulue were killed, all of them in the earthquake that struck at 7:55am last Sunday. Although 90% of the buildings along its coast were destroyed, nobody perished in the five-meter-high walls of water that followed. Local traditions seem to have saved them. Mayor Darmili said villagers on the island were used to earthquakes and tsunamis. A big earthquake last struck in 2002. "Thousands of our people were killed by a tsunami in 1907 and we have many earthquakes here," he said. "Our ancestors have a saying - if there is an earthquake run for your life." Nias Island On Nias Island official accounts gave the number of dead at 122 via the Ministry of Health, while various unconfirmed sources (mostly from phone calls by relatives living in Jakarta) reported death tolls of over 600; others said the number was more likely to exceed 1000. Reports surfaced that the small islets off the coast of Nias island in the Sirombu district were still relatively intact, but high waves still prevented locals from attempting to reach the islands. Confirmation and communications to the islands were further hampered by damage to telecommunication infrastructures, where phone lines were broken and radio networks were said to be down due to bad weather. This infrastructure damage severely hampered the distribution of aid. Complications owing to Aceh insurgency An accurate picture of the damage was made difficult due to the insurgency of the separatist Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian military crackdown which means that there were relatively few journalists, government offices, or aid workers in northern Sumatra prior to the earthquake. On 27 December the government lifted the 18-month-old ban prohibiting foreign journalists and aid workers from travelling to Aceh. Also on 27 December a spokesperson for the Free Aceh Movement declared a ceasefire so humanitarian aid could reach survivors, and so as not to complicate the already devastating situation, however some expressed doubt that there would be good-faith cooperation between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian military. Despite losing