Two-Metre Floodwaters Submerge Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, Affecting Hundreds of Households

Two-Metre Floodwaters Submerge Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, Affecting Hundreds of Households A total of 134 households have been affected by flooding after the Polenga and Tondowolio rivers in Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra), overflowed due to heavy rainfall. “The affected residents are spread across two villages, namely Polenga Village in Watubangga District, with 47 households, and Tondowolio Village in Tanggetada District, with 87 households,” said the Acting Head of the Kolaka BPBD (Regional Disaster Management Agency), Sunarto, on Tuesday (24 February). The flooding began on Sunday (22 February) at around 01:30 WITA (Central Indonesia Time). The heavy rainfall caused the Polenga and Tondowolio rivers to overflow, inundating residential areas with water levels reaching up to 2 metres. “The two rivers overflowed into residents’ homes due to the heavy rain, which was then exacerbated by the high tide,” he said. In addition to inundating residential areas, the flood also submerged a number of public facilities, schools, and rice fields. “As a result of the flood, more than 100 homes in the two areas were affected. Public facilities that were also affected include SD Negeri 1 Tondowolio and a Madrasah in Tanggetada District, with 30 hectares of rice fields affected in the two villages,” he explained. However, Sunarto said that the water level has now receded and residents have begun cleaning up the debris from yesterday’s flood.

(mir/dal) [Image: CNN Video]