Fifteen people die in flash floods in South Sumatra

Fifteen people die in flash floods in South Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): At least 16 people were found dead and dozens more are still missing after floods ravaged a number of villages in the provinces of South Sumatra and thinly populated Irian Jaya, according to reports yesterday.

Fifteen were killed after flash floods ravaged two villages in Lahat regency, South Sumatra, forcing hundreds of villagers to flee for their safety, said Imron Marus, an official of the regency.

He said the victims were still sleeping when the disaster took place in the early hours on Wednesday.

Days of incessant rain caused the Air Betung river to overflow, a strong current bursting its banks in several spots, inundating the two villages and destroying around 130 houses built on stilts, Imron said.

"Fiftyeight houses were swept away in Tanjung Agung and 74 were destroyed in Galang," Imron told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview yesterday.

"The disaster has caused an estimated financial loss of more than Rp 1 billion (US$462,000)," he said.

The worst-hit villages were around 400 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital Palembang whose river, the Musi, is one of the largest in the country. The Air Betung river is one of the Musi's tributaries.

The floods in Lahat also damaged other nearby areas where big trees were uprooted and dozens of hectares of paddy fields were destroyed, according to Antara yesterday.

The report said that a village mosque and a school were also badly damaged by the flood.

Relief

Imron said that the local administration and police have dispatched a team of relief workers to help the victims. Food and medical supplies had also been sent to the site of the disaster, he added.

Antara also reported that floods hit the small town of Nabire in the country's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, killing an 11-month-old child and destroying 17 houses.

Spokesman of the Nabire regency said that he had collected some Rp 60 million to help the victims. The farmers of Nabire lost their cattle in the floods.

The news agency said the South Sumatra office of the Ministry of Social Services will tomorrow send three tons of rice and kitchen utensils for the residents in shelter.

The office will also send clothing, especially for children, school uniforms, blankets, and sarongs. More aid in similar forms will arrive next week, according to the head of the office, Soeparman, in Palembang.

The office will also later help residents rebuild their houses. "We will also take care that the aid is distributed fairly to the victims," he promised.

The rainy season has flooded several parts of Indonesia, including Jakarta where over 30 people were killed between January and February.

Last May some villages in Irian Jaya's Nabire regency were also hit by floods and landslides, in which 47 people were killed. (16)