Floods return to Palu, destroying homes, crops

Floods return to Palu, destroying homes, crops

PALU, Central Sulawesi: A fresh flash flood hit Morowali regency in Central Sulawesi on Tuesday, destroying hundreds of homes and inundating more than 1,000 hectares of paddy fields about to be harvested.

At least five villages in the Petasia subdistrict, including Togo Mulya and Bunta, which are inhabited by migrants, were swamped with two-meter-deep floodwater, forcing residents to flee their homes.

Yalbert Tulaka, a spokesman for the local administration, said the flood also inundated the road, cutting off transportation between Onoputeh and Mondowe.

"This has made it difficult for the local administration to send food and medicine to the flood victims, but we are trying to accommodate them at makeshift shelters to speed up channeling the supplies."

No casualties were reported. A one-and-a-half-year-old child from Oneputeh village was found alive after he was swept away by floods two hours earlier.--Antara