Four villagers die in Bogor flash flood

Four villagers die in Bogor flash flood

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Four villagers died and four others
were injured when a wall separating a ravine from a river on
higher ground collapsed during a flash flood on Saturday.

One of the residents of Cimanggu Lebak, Kedung Badak village,
was buried alive, while the three others were swept away in the
flooding caused by heavy rains. The victims were Ningsih, 11,
Titik, 50, Karniyem, 30, and Khatimah, who was four years old.

The bruised body of Ningsih was found under the rubble of the
wall late that night, while the bodies of the three other victims
were found around one kilometer away from the accident site
yesterday.

Five houses were completely destroyed, while eight others
suffered slight damage. The authorities are still assessing the
financial loss.

Kankan, a witness, said that on Saturday evening residents saw
the one-meter-high wall on the upper right hand side of the
village began to crack as water from the overflowing river on the
other side continued to rise.

The villagers tried to shore up the wall, but it collapsed
anyway, and water rushed into the Tanah Sareal district village.

The flood subsided about half an hour later, Kankan said. The
injured villagers are currently being treated at the Karya Bakti
Hospital.

Bogor, known as the "City of Rain" owing to its high rate of
rainfall, is prone to flash floods.

Last year, 15 people died in a flash flood near the Curug
Luhur waterfall on the Cihedung river. One person is still
missing.

The flood struck while a group of 16 people were swimming in
the river. The water rose up so fast that none of them had time
to save themselves.

In early 1991, flash floods killed two people and inundated
5,000 houses and hundreds of hectares of rice fields. the
flooding also destroyed 100 houses and mosques, and killed dozens
of domestic animals. (21/swe)