Flood kills at least four in Samarinda, East Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): At least four people have died and 100,000 others forced to evacuate in widespread flooding in Samarinda after a dam burst Thursday in the East Kalimantan capital.

Trade and traffic stopped as water two meters deep covered 1,300 hectares of land, home to 450,000 people. Public facilities are believed to have been damaged.

Samarinda, with a total area of 7,000 hectares, "looks like the sea", Antara news agency reported. Financial losses may reach billions of rupiah because most people did not have sufficient time to move their belongings in the sudden disaster.

About 500 hectares of crops have been lost. The flooding began after the Menangan dam in Lempake village, 20 km north of Samarinda, burst after weeks of heavy rain.

Rescue workers told Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah during a tour of part of the flooded area Saturday that four people had been found dead since Friday evening.

Local authorities have set up 11 rescue posts in seven subdistricts and three districts in Samarinda. The military has established a special command post and local military chief Col. Rudi Landung said his staff would do their best to help the people.

Air traffic

The disaster has also disrupted air traffic due to a one-meter-high inundation of the Temindung Airport runway. Locals expect the flooding to continue at least seven days, or longer if rains persist and the Mahakam River bursts its banks.

As of yesterday, flood waters had receded to depths of about 25 centimeters in some places.

Among the worst-hit areas were Bugis, Pelabuhan, Sungai Pinang Luar, Sungai Pinang Dalam and Sidomulyo districts. Streets under water included Jl. Ahmad Yani, Jl. S. Parman, Jl. Remaja, Jl. Lambung Mangkurat, Jl. Gatot Subroto, the Gunung Lingai housing complex and Jl. M. Yamin.

Residents were seen perched on their roofs, awaiting rescue workers from the Samarinda municipal disaster management team.

Power failure almost paralyzed the Abdul Wahab Syahranie Hospital, where administrators were forced to use candlelight.

"We have had to stop surgery, because if we continued, the power panel could blow up," hospital director Yusuf S.K. told the governor.

The doctor also said patients needing operations had to be transferred to other institutions, including the Islamic Hospital, Dirgahayu Hospital and Bhakti Nugraha Hospital.

He added there was no need to evacuate the 201 patients at the hospital.

Dam

Local official Yusrani A. Pris said the dam, built in 1970, had 20-meter-high walls on each side. On Thursday, the walls broke and water escaped toward the residential areas of the city, Pris said.

Governor Suwarna has instructed the local officials to send food relief and paramedics to residents taking refuge in makeshift shelters. He also warned of the possibility of disease.

After being hit by an El Nio-induced prolonged drought last year, the country is now facing a prolonged rainy reason triggered by La Nina weather phenomenon.

The news agency reported yesterday that about 300 people had refused to be evacuated because they worried their homes would be looted in their absence.

One of them, Ridwan, said many residents were camped out in tents near their homes despite security assurances from the police. (byg)