Flood kills at least four in Samarinda, East Kalimantan
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)