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)