Diarrhea flares up in flood-hit S. Bandung

Diarrhea flares up in flood-hit S. Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Hundreds of people in southern Bandung have been suffering from
diarrhea and eye infections amid the worst flooding since 1994,
which has inundated the subdistrict for two weeks.

More than 3,000 evacuated residents, whose houses are still
flooded, have been living in temporary accommodation and school
buildings since Nov. 15, 2001.

"Since the start of the holy month of Ramadhan on Nov. 16,
2001, we have not once had sahur (dawn meals) or broken the fast
in our houses because of the flood. The water reaches 1.5 meters
high," 50-year old Warsa from Dayeukolot village told The Jakarta
Post.

He said the flood had inundated around 200 houses in his
village and 80 families had taken refuge in Pasawangan village,
while many others had chosen to stay with their relatives in
nearby areas.

Bandung Regent Obar Sobarna said the flood was the worst to
have hit the area since 1994.

Health workers have been dispatched to camps in Pasawahan and
Cisirung to help villagers suffering from diarrhea and eye
infections.

Dadang Nurdin, a medical worker from a public health center in
Cangkuang village, said three medical teams had already been sent
to the worst affected areas to help people suffering from health
problems.

"Most refugees are suffering from diarrhea, eye infections and
skin irritations," he said, adding that the physicians toured the
villages and examined around 100 patients per day.

Evacuees said they believed the infections resulted from
floodwaters that had been contaminated with chemical substances
from neighboring textile factories.

Waste from factories, which is normally dumped in the nearby
river, has now polluted floodwaters. The local waste treatment
service in Cisirung village has also been flooded and cannot
accept any more waste, Warsa said.

As a consequence, he said that the water turned brown after
having mixed with chemical substances.

Dadang said that although local health authorities had
smoothly deployed medical assistance for the flood victims, such
diseases could spread to other areas if necessary precautions
were not taken.

Another evacuee, Lili Suhaeli, said many flood victims had
contracted the illnesses because they were staying in extremely
overloaded camps.

He said the diarrhea spread because the evacuees did not
consume healthy or nutritious food and there was no clean water.
"How can we be healthy if we always have noodles every sahur and
when breaking the fast."

The evacuees also complained that the local government was not
paying serious attention to their welfare, as they had received
only a small level of assistance from them.

Floods have affected villages in southern Bandung on a regular
basis since 1994, when the local administration carried out a
development project in the Citarum river.

"Apparently, after inspections, the river was only widened,
not deepened, so it cannot accommodate the overflow of water from
northern Bandung," said Lili, who has lived in the village of
Cisirung Bojong for 20 years.