Five missing in East Timor floods

DILI, East Timor (JP): Five people are missing, presumed dead, and almost 160 houses have been destroyed by floods which swept through Covalima, about 200 kilometers south of here yesterday.

The Bariki, Maudemo and Salele villages were the worst hit by the floods, triggered by two days of incessant rains, chief of the local Indonesian Red Cross M. Jupri Made said.

Jupri said 47 families in Bakiki were evacuated to safer ground and 30 houses were washed away.

In Maudemo, three people went missing, 60 houses were destroyed and 68 families moved to temporary shelters.

In the transmigration site of Salele, two villagers went missing, 66 families were evacuated and 68 houses destroyed, according to Jupri.

Local residents said the flood was the first they had ever seen in their village.

The Red Cross has asked local military officials in Dili for assistance, Jupri said, adding that he had dispatched 10 workers to the stricken areas.

The provincial government sent 20 tons of rice, 50 boxes of noodles and 275 items of clothing.

Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares said he awaited official detailed reports on the natural disaster. (33/pan)