1,200 people flee floods, seek emergency assistance
1,200 people flee floods, seek emergency assistance
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As many as 1,200 people fled their homes on Tuesday for
Bengkayang, West Kalimantan, after floods triggered by several
days of heavy rain swept through the village of Sungai Bawung in
Sungai Raya subdistrict.
Residents began leaving at midnight on Tuesday as floodwater
rose to three meters in several areas, the Antara news agency
reported.
Villagers took refuge at schools and a mosque located on Jl
Pontianak-Singkawang, about three kilometers from the affected
area.
Local residents said on Tuesday night that floodwaters had
been rising since the rain started on Friday.
Displaced residents are seeking humanitarian assistance at the
shelters as almost all of them had left their homes without
bringing any clothes or housewares.
No public kitchen has been set up for the displaced, even
though there are many children among them.
Najmi, a senior government official at Sungai Raya subdistrict
administration, said floods had inundated at least 13 villages
and that Bawung and Teresak were the hardest hit.
Other inundated villages include Sungai Duri, Sungai Jaga
Atas, Sungai Pangkalan II, Rukmajaya, Sungai Keran and
Karimunting.
Local resident Amir Dampil, 61, said the floods were the worst
natural disaster to hit the Bengkayang district since 1971.
He said the floodwater had entered wooden homes built on posts
one meter high.
Amir said the situation was worsened by rivers overflowing
near the flooded areas as nearby Natuna sea was at high tide.
Floods and landslides are an annual occurrence in Indonesia,
particular during the rainy season.
Last Friday, a landslide killed nine people in Panireman, a
village in Pontianak, following a day of heavy rain in the area.
The nine fatalities were among the 12 who were buried when a
small hill suddenly collapsed.
Earlier last month, 26 people died when a mudslide struck the
Padusan hot springs in the Pacet resort of Mojokerto regency,
East Java.
A man was killed on Monday night during a landslide that hit
Parigi village in the South Sulawesi regency of Gowa, some 30
kilometers northeast of the provincial capital of Makassar,
Antara reported.
Local residents said Nawir Daeng Nanring, 30, was buried alive
while he was checking his plantation in the affected area.
Villagers managed to recover his body after digging for five
hours.
Gowa Police detective chief Adj. Comr. Danial Lindang said on
Tuesday that police and local residents were still searching for
more possible victims after two people were reported missing by
their families.
Danial cautioned villagers to stay on alert for more possible
landslides. Rain has continued to fall in the village over the
past few days.
Meanwhile, several construction workers used heavy equipment
to clear soil and rocks after a landslide on Saturday blocked the
road connecting Pekanbaru and Rengat through Taluk Kuantan in
Riau.
A spokesman for the Kuantan Singingi administration, Azhardi,
said another landslide had destroyed a house in Sawah village on
Sunday.