Three died as floods hit villages in Riau

Three died as floods hit villages in Riau

JAKARTA (JP): Three people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed and around 2,600 others forced to leave their homes when floods hit a number of villages in Riau province.

Days of incessant downpours caused the Indragiri river and a number of others to overflow, inundating thousands of houses and hundreds of hectares of rice fields in 109 villages, the Antara news agency reported from Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, yesterday.

Chief of the provincial social welfare ministry office, Arman Alie, said that the three deceased people were dragged away by the flood waters.

Arman said more than 2,400 homes were inundated by the rising Indragiri river and that in the worst hit areas the water had risen two meters.

"We don't know yet how many hectares of arable land have been destroyed by the floods. We are still waiting for the reports from subdistrict officials," Arman said.

He also said that the floods damaged 24 schools and scores of mosques and other houses of worship, crippling almost all social and educational activities in the area.

Other rivers overflowing in the area are Batang Kuantan, Batang Peranap, Cinaku, Gangsal and Indragiri, all of which are among the largest in the province.

Touching on relief work, Arman said the provincial government and his office had deployed a team of rescue workers to help the victims. The team has been instructed to be on duty around the clock.

The provincial government is calling on the public to help the flood victims in every way they can. Five tons of rice has already been distributed to the evacuees.

Meanwhile, Antara reported from Cirebon, a coastal town in the eastern part of West Java province, that big floods had also destroyed thousands of hectares of rice fields in the area.

The news agency also said the floods had carried away 11 farm women who were on their way to their fields to work.

Nine of the victims were rescued by villagers who responded quickly to their calls for help, but two others were still missing and are feared to have drowned.(ego)