Flood victims in Lampung starting to fall sick

Flood victims in Lampung starting to fall sick

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post/Bandarlampung

Five days after floods inundated many parts of Lampung, the
number of people affected by the disaster is on the rise, while
some of them have started to fall ill.

The flood has affected five regencies -- Tulangbawang, Lampung
Utara, Lampung Timur, Lampung Tengah and Way Kanan as of
Thursday.

The number of people seeking medical treatment has reached
over 5,000, with common complaints being skin irritation,
respiratory infection, diarrhea and fever.

According to Lampung's provincial secretary, Rachmat Abdullah,
the number of people who had flood-related illnesses were 941 in
Lampung Utara regency, 910 in Lampung Tengah, 450 in Waykanan,
405 in Lampung Timur, and 3,000 in Tulangbawang.

"Some of them have already received medical treatment at
nearby community health centers," Abdullah said.

The flood has claimed five lives to date. The last victim was
17-year-old Ricky, a resident of Gayabaru 1 village in Seputih
Surabaya district in Lampung Tengah regency, who drowned when he
was fleeing floodwaters on Thursday.

The flood also ruined 17,000 hectares of paddy and corn that
was due to be harvested in the five regencies.

Abdullah said that out of the 17,000 hectares, 14,000 were
paddy and the remaining were corn.

He said the provincial and regental administrations would
provide free medical treatment as well as seeds to allow farmers
to start planting again.

Head of Kotabumi community health center in North Lampung, Dr.
Maya, said that all patients in the area had been treated in
health centers.

However, she said that the number of people may not be
accurate as not all of subdistricts has submitted the exact
number of patients being treated.

Flooding in the five regencies not only disrupted traffic but
also school activities.

Head of the education office in Waykanan, Herwan Syahri, said
that seven elementary schools were inundated by two meters of
floodwater.

In Tulangbawang, five elementary schools had to close as the
schools were damaged by floodwater.

In Palembang, head of the province's geophysics and
meteorology office, Suyatim, said that the Musi River and several
other rivers had overflowed and inundated at least four
regencies. The flood, he said, occurred because of heavier than
usual rain.

He was reported by Antara as saying that flooding would still
pose a threat for South Sumatra residents until March, cautioning
people not only to watch out for floods but also for possible
landslides.