Jakarta, Dec. 21 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Culture announced on Sunday that it has prepared an initial budget of around Rp11 billion (US$659,000) for the cleanup and restoration of cultural heritage sites damaged by recent floods and landslides in Sumatra.

Culture Minister Fadli Zon said the ministry is continuing to identify affected sites across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, where heavy rainfall in late November triggered widespread flooding and landslides.

"The number has grown from 43 to 70, and then exceeded 100. It was hard to reach areas with cut-off access before," he told reporters in Jakarta.

Data collection is being carried out by local Cultural Preservation Offices (BPK) in each province.

Preliminary findings sho...