15 killed and 50 missing after Bali landslide
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)