Landslides, floods kill 49 in West Sumatra

Landslides, floods kill 49 in West Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): Massive floods and landslides resulting from
days of torrential rain and storms in West Sumatra have claimed
at least 49 lives with dozens of others reported missing and
feared dead.

The disaster left most of the regencies here crippled with
electricity blackouts and closed main highways throughout the
province.

A mudslide in Talu village, Pasaman regency on Sunday buried
five houses, leaving five people dead, two injured and 14 others
missing, Antara reported.

In Talawi village, Sepuluh Koto Tarusan district, in Pesisir
Selatan regency, five people were swept away in the strong
current of the overflowing Batang Tarusan river and are feared
dead. Residents said 12 others were still missing.

A mudslide also covered Calao village in Bayang district on
Saturday, killing five residents, while 23 others were declared
missing.

In Padang mayoralty, three people were reportedly swept away
in the river that flows through the city, and are presumed dead,
while eight others were seriously injured after being buried
under a mudslide.

Five people were killed, 20 others went missing and 85 people
were unaccounted for after flooding and a mudslide in the Malalo
district in the town of Singkarak, Tanah Datar regency.

In Padang Pariaman regency, six bodies were recovered in
separate locations, three from the Limau river, two in Lubuk
Alung and one in the area south of here. Residents of the regency
also said that 11 people were seriously injured.

Strong river currents also killed one person in the Batang
Lembang area of Solok mayoralty.

An official with the West Sumatra administration predicted
that some 60,000 people in the disaster-hit areas could soon face
famine if the rain continued.

He said the persistent, heavy rain and storms across the
province had hampered search and rescue teams in conducting
relief operations. The total material losses in the province's
nine mayoralties and regencies affected by the flood had reached
Rp 350 billion, he added.

Rescue teams were still unable to reach eight villages in the
hardest-hit regency of Pesisir Selatan on Sunday due to the
rising water levels which had already reached five meters. Some
12,000 residents were feared to be trapped in the locations.

Rescuers predicted that the number of fatalities were likely
to climb as the storms were continuing and they had not yet been
able to search all of the disaster-hit villages, a local reporter
said on Sunday.

"Mud floods have also killed at least 5,000 head of cattle, as
well as chickens and goats," the reporter told The Jakarta Post
by phone.

Also destroyed were 9,600 hectares of rice and irrigated
fields, with at least seven bridges being swept away by the
floodwaters.

The erosion resulting from the floods has caused the
subsidence of some 60 kilometers of the road connecting Solok and
Padang with water reaching as high as one meter in several
places.

There is no official data on the number of refugees but
residents from the disaster-hit areas have abandoned their
villages and sought shelter in local administration buildings.

"People here are terrified as it is still raining and it gets
pretty dark at night since PLN (state-owned electricity company)
has switched off the power in most areas," Ita Risman, a resident
of downtown Padang told the Post.

The areas worst hit by mud floods were Pesisir Selatan and
Tanah Datar regencies and Padang and Solok mayoralties.

Floods also hit Aceh, following incessant rain since
Wednesday, private television station SCTV reported on Sunday.

At least five people were killed by floods in Bireun and North
Aceh regencies,Antara news agency reported.

The disaster, said to be the worst since 1953, has cut
electricity supplies and telephone lines as well as several
highways in the province.

West Sumatra's two neighboring provinces have also suffered
the impacts of the rain heavily poured Sumatra island over the
past week.

In Jambi, the floods destroyed around 3,500 hectares of rice
fields and homes of residents of four regencies in Kerinci
district.

Meanwhile in Bengkulu, houses in at least three regencies were
soaked by water up to 1.5 meter height following three days of
rain. (bby/edt/lup)