Floods hit Langkat, 92 killed

Floods hit Langkat, 92 killed

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Langkat, North Sumatra

Flash floods ripped through a popular resort town in North
Sumatra late Sunday night, killing at least 92 people, including
five foreign tourists.

Hundreds of others were missing feared dead, while downed
communication lines and demolished bridges hampered rescue
efforts, officials said on Monday.

Around 420 houses, including five tourist cottages, were
destroyed or damaged when floodwaters, mud, trees and other
debris hit the Bukit Lawang resort in Bahorok subdistrict,
Langkat regency.

The floods, triggered by days of heavy rains and severe
deforestation, hit Bahorok, about 100 kilometers from the North
Sumatra capital Medan, from 10 p.m. on Sunday till 1 a.m Monday.

Bahorok river, which flows down from nearby mountains, and
smaller rivers burst their banks and washed away residential
areas and dozens of guesthouses that host tourists in the area
famous around the world as an orangutan rehabilitation center.

The foreigners killed were identified by police only as
Mathias and Lusi from the United States, Austria's Florian Lub,
Singapore's Tan Tek Kai and Eli from Germany. Their bodies were
taken to the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan.

Also among the dead were a group of 20 domestic tourists from
West Sumatra.

Officials at the Bukit Lawang disaster handling task force
said they had found at least 92 bodies by late Monday evening,
while other sources put the death toll at more than 100.

Most of the dead villagers could not be identified as they
were not carrying identity cards.

At least 67 people were injured and were being treated at the
Djulham Binjai General Hospital, the task force said.

The number of dead will likely soar as a rescue team assisted
by hundreds of local police and government officials as well as
villagers were searching for missing people, reportedly numbering
in the hundreds.

The rescue workers removed the dead from the wreckage of
destroyed buildings. Some other bodies were unearthed from mud or
unearthed under other debris.

Survivors told The Jakarta Post that most of the dead were
drowned, while others were killed as the floods and fallen trees
ripped through their homes or cottages.

At least five rivers in the subdistricts of Batang Serangan,
Wampu, Bahorok, Tanjung Pura and Sawit Seberang overflowed after
the rains. However, the worst floods came from the Bahorok river
that runs through the township of Bahorok, home to around 43,109
people.

Deni, a 24-year old survivor, said the floods hit quickly as
most people slept. The flooding demolished three bridges in
Bahorok and houses near riverbanks, he said.

"The floods came at midnight. Floodwaters were at the height
of up to six meters above the river banks," he said, adding that
19 of his family members and relatives, including both sets of
parents, had drowned.

Deni was rescued by villagers after six hours pinned beneath
logs.

Langkat Regent Syamsul Arifin visited the scene and expressed
condolences to the victims, saying the floods were the worst ever
to hit the town.

He blamed the disaster on severe deforestation in Mount Leuser
National Park.

"The deforestation has continued unchecked by loggers from
within and outside Langkat. We have several times tried to stop
them, but illegal logging continues," Arifin said.

The government and Indonesian Military are widely known to
profit from the trade but no concrete action is ever taken
against them, despite the political rhetoric.

Also visiting the scene were North Sumatra Governor Tengku
Rizal Nurdin, Bukit Barisan Military Commander Maj. Gen. Tri
Tamtomo and North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Edy Sunarno.

Hundreds of local villagers fled Bukit Lawang to take refuge
in safer areas in order to avoid the possibility of further
flooding. They were accommodated at several places like schools
and local government offices.