Floods and landslides claim five lives in South Sulawesi

Floods and landslides claim five lives in South Sulawesi

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

At least five people died as flooding and landslides, as a result
of heavy rains since Thursday, swept away houses in Wajo regency,
South Sulawesi, local officials said on Saturday.

The floods also forced more than 3,000 families to flee to
safer areas. There were also reports of widespread damage to at
least 1,200 hectares of crops, which were ready for harvest.

The trans-Sulawesi highway connecting Wajo with the
neighboring towns of Bone, Sidrap and Soppeng was completely cut
off.

The dead victims included Wagiran, 56, and his 75-year old
mother, who were killed in a landslide that hit Tempe
subdistrict.

The other dead were Sudirman and Amiruddin from Belawa
subdistrict, and an unidentified resident from the subdistrict of
Pitumpanua. All were swept away and drowned in the floodwaters.

The floods have submerged 14 subdistricts across the town,
some 400 kilometers from the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.

The water had yet to recede as of Saturday evening, and was
between one and five meters high in at least nine of the affected
areas.

Djamaluddin Santo, secretary of the Wajo administration, said
the floods started to hit his town on Thursday and just kept on
rising through to Saturday. "It is the worst disaster in Wajo's
history," he told The Jakarta Post.

The nine worst affected areas were the subdistricts of Tempe,
Tana Sitolo, Belawa, Pammana, Sabbamparu, Maneang Pajo, Maja
Uleng, Sajoaingin and Pitumpanua.

Santo said the flooding was triggered by torrential rains over
the last three days, which caused several rivers and Tempe Lake
to overflow their banks.

He said the local authorities were also getting reports of
numerous landslides in several subdistricts.

"We are still verifying the reports. But regardless, this
disaster has shocked us all," he added.

Santo said vehicle traffic in the affected areas on the north-
south highway was totally crippled due to the flooding.

Thousands of the displaced people were being accommodated at
state buildings, schools and places of worship as well as houses
in locations unaffected by the floods.

"Around 60 percent of the refugees are staying in private
homes, while the remaining 40 percent are housed in places of
worship and state offices," Santo said.

Search and rescue workers, including those from the Navy and
the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), have been deployed to assist
locals.

Aside from Wajo, other regencies in Sulawesi, including
Soppeng and Sinjai, were also hit by the floods.

Meanwhile in the Southeast Sulawesi capital of Kendari, at
least one person was reportedly killed after drowning in
floodwaters in Lainea subdistrict, and another local resident was
reported missing.

At least 75 families comprising around 800 people from Baruga
subdistrict also had to flee the flooding in their villages.

Baruga subdistrict head Rivai Lamuse was quoted by Antara as
saying on Saturday that the floods followed heavy rains since
Thursday, which caused the Konoweha and Lahumbuti rivers to burst
their banks.

Flooding hit at least 58 villages in eight subdistricts of
Kendari, with floodwaters up to two meters high in places.