Floods leave 4,000 families homeless in E. Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): At least 4,000 families became refugees on Thursday when heavy rains led to floods in Kutai, East Kalimantan, Antara reported.

Hasbullah Haaul, head of the Sangata district, said that the families, totaling 8,197 people, were victims of the heavy rainfall which fell over the past two days. The floods covered three kilometers of highway with water that reached a height of 1.5 meters.

"The flood led to the damage of around 30 hectares of residential area, 182 hectares of farm land, 22 hectares of corn and cacao fields and 24 hectares of shrimp ponds," Hasbullah said. Two fishing boats were also badly damaged when trees along the bank of the Sangatta river collapsed on them.

A housing center and a public kitchen have been set up to help the victims, Hasbullah added.

In Dompu, West Nusa Tenggara, thousands of hectares of ricefields were inundated after three days of rain. Hundreds of homes and public facilities were also damaged.

Also, in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, dozens have been made homeless by floods which have hit the area in the past month.

The local head of the disaster prevention post, John Payong Beda, was quoted by Antara as saying that the administration has delivered money and rice to the victims. Residents were also seen helping to rebuild destroyed homes.

The La Nina storms have also led to fatalities. Fifteen people have been killed since October, Payong Beda said.

Affected areas, he added, are the regencies of Manggarai, Ngada, East Flores, Belu and the southern and northern parts of Central Timor.

More damage is expected when the rains reach their peak in the next few months.

The agency quoted Governor Piet Alexander Tallo as saying that he has instructed all regents and mayors to immediately form disaster monitoring centers to better prepare the public for the La Nina storms.

The East Nusa Tenggara administration, Payong Beda said, has set-aside Rp 50 million and 50 tons of to ease the suffering of the victims.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, the administration reported that the planned construction site of a dam has been moved 300 meters to the east of the original site, because residents along the river bank demanded compensation.

According to the plans, a one kilometer long dam is to be constructed with Rp 1.2 billion in funds, reportedly provided by the World Bank.

Bambang said that the relocation was disadvantageous because western Palu, which is lower than eastern Palu, was more prone to flooding.

Bambang added that the "weakness" of World Bank projects is that they do not include compensation funds, which leads to repeated disputes with residents.

However, he hoped that the public would understand that the projects are to prevent floods and are designed for their benefit, and that the administration would provide them with new homes.

Dams along the Palu river have already secured the Maesa and Ujuna subdistricts in Palu.

Explaining the damage caused to the dams in the floods of 1994/1995, Bambang said that one cause was the lack of funds for maintenance. "Ideally the funds should have been Rp 15 million per meter but there was only Rp 900,000 per meter." (anr)