Fresh flooding likely in Nias Island

Fresh flooding likely in Nias Island

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): With the horror of their
experiences still fresh in the minds of the Nias flood victims,
heavy downpours and storms once again hit many areas of Nias
island on Saturday, including the six flood-hit districts,
terrifying the islanders and forcing the authorities to evacuate
people living in areas located along riverbanks.

The incessant rains, which started on Saturday morning, also
spread fear among people living in "safe" districts, that is
those which were not devastated by Tuesday's flooding, which was
reportedly caused by deforestation.

Coordinator of the Nias Disaster Center A.A. Gulo told The
Jakarta Post in a telephone interview on Saturday that the bad
weather was also hampering the rescuers' helicopter operations.

"According to the original schedule, members of the Search and
Rescue (SAR) team from Jakarta were to fly to the accident site
in the morning. But the plan was delayed, and the rescuers had to
proceed on foot. They combed the Lahusa, Gomo and Telukdalam
districts."

"Despite the heavy rain, they (the SAR team members) found
five more dead bodies in Telukdalam, bringing the death toll to
55. We hope that we can recover more bodies later from other
areas," Gulo said.

According to the latest information, the number of people
missing is still 114, while 325 houses have been washed away by
the floods.

Gulo said, however, that the death toll could change at
anytime and that all figures given out were just tentative.

Nias regent Binahati D. Bahea was quoted by Antara as saying
on Saturday that the death toll had reached 60, and that 124
people were missing.

Most of the missing were women and children who were asleep
when the flood swept away their homes in the early hours of
Tuesday morning.

According to Bahea, a similar flood occurred 60 years ago,
"but not many people were killed, because people lived on high
ground at that time."

"Now many people are living along the riverbanks, which are
vulnerable to flooding."

The floods also destroyed four bridges and cut several roads.

With the bridges down, surface transportation from Gomo to
Lahusa and from Lahusa to Telukdalam has been disrupted.

"The transportation chaos has had an economic impact, such as
increases in the price of staple foodstuffs on the island," Gulo
said. "One kilogram of rice was previously Rp 3,000 in Gomo and
Telukdalam, but now the rice costs Rp 8,000 per kilogram."

This economic impact had intensified the flood victims'
suffering, he said.

"Some of flood victims have not yet been evacuated to Lahusa
and other accessible areas. A helicopter will fly in with food
aid for those trapped in remote areas in the Gomo and Telukdalam
districts if the weather improves on Sunday."

Hundreds of survivors have yet to be evacuated from their
devastated villages, while as many as 550 have been rescued and
are receiving temporary shelter in Lahusa.

Meanwhile, North Sumatra province spokesman Eddy Sofyan
confirmed on Saturday that Vice President Hamzah Haz would visit
the flood victims in Nias on Tuesday. (42/sur)