15 killed and 50 missing after Bali landslide
JAKARTA (JP): Fifteen people died when a landslide struck Timbul village in Gianyar, Bali, on Thursday morning and rescue workers assisted by Pupuan hamlet residents were laboring to dig out an estimated 50 people still buried under the mud.
Antara reported that a waterlogged overhang collapsed while residents were making repairs to an irrigation canal damaged by days of incessant rain. Many of the workers were buried alive.
"I don't know how many people were buried under the landslide, I am just thankful that I escaped," survivor I Made Waka said. He said the disaster struck at around 8.30 a.m.
Some reports estimated about 100 villagers were working on the irrigation channel. Suara Pembaruan evening daily estimated around 50 people were killed.
The news agency said 12 people escaped, seven of whom required medical treatment at Sanglah Hospital in the provincial capital of Denpasar and at a smaller hospital in Gianyar.
The bodies of the 15 victims were laid out in the village hall for people to pay their last respects. The Gianyar administration has said it will pay the medical bills of survivors and the cost of funerals for the dead.
Early last year, experts began to issue warnings about the possibility of abnormal rains and heavy flooding across many provinces as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon. In recent weeks, reports of flooding and casualties have streamed in, with eight deaths recorded in Bengkulu and a further seven in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.
Meanwhile, the Gunungkidul regency in Yogyakarta, traditionally one of the driest spots in Java, was hit by floods following days of heavy rain. Two villages, Giriwungu in Panggang subdistrict and Pacareja in Semanu subdistrict, have been inundated for the past week, Antara reported.
Traffic connecting the area with Bantul regency was disrupted by the flooding and dozens of hectares of crops were damaged.
No casualties were reported.
"Gunungkidul is an area which always suffers from drought. This is the first year there's been a flood here for as far back as I can remember," said a local resident named Suhardono.
Meanwhile, from Ujungpandang it was reported that three bridges and a pond would be constructed to mitigate the effects of further flooding.
Antara quoted Haryanto Brodjo, who is in charge of flood control along the Jeneberang river, as saying the bridges would cross the Pampang river -- long known as a flood hazard which frequently bursts its banks.
Construction will commence in the 1999 dry season, he said.
Experts warned that 13 of Indonesia's 27 provinces were particularly vulnerable to La Nina-induced flooding. The provinces were Lampung, Riau, South Sumatra, Bengkulu, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
The government has admitted that established flood control projects cover less than 10 percent of areas thought to be vulnerable to flooding. (swe)