Flooding in Ende claims two lives

MAUMERE, East Nusa Tenggara: Three-days of heavy rains that began last Wednesday caused flooding in the Detusoko and Maurole districts of Ende, claiming two lives.

As of Monday, dozens of bridges and hundreds of hectares of fields were still underwater.

According to Petrus Lengo, the head of the Ministry of Public Works' local office, the flooding caused an estimated Rp 1 billion in financial losses.

The administration of Ende donated 800 kilograms of rice from the World Food Program to the victims.

Meanwhile, in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, it was reported that three bridges were damaged, and 100 houses and 300 hectares of shrimp ponds in the Sekotong subdistrict were inundated when floods hit the provincial capital on Monday.

The subdistrict chief of Sekotong, Surapati, said that several days of heavy rain had also caused landslides in neighboring villages. No casualties were reported.

Surapati said the floodwaters had disrupted the daily lives of residents in the area. (25/29/yac/edt)