Wajo flood recedes as death toll rises to six

Wajo flood recedes as death toll rises to six

Jupriadi Asmaradhana, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Floods that hit nine of the 14 districts of Wajo regency, 400
kilometers north of Makassar, South Sulawesi, receded on Monday,
but thousands of flood victims have opted to stay in the
makeshift shelters instead of returning home.

Secretary of Wajo regency Djamaluddin Santo said floods in
most of the worst affected districts, such as Belawa, Tempe,
Pammana, Sitolo and Sabbang Paru, had subsided to about 60
centimeters from between one meter and five meters at the height
of the crisis.

The Trans-Sulawesi road passing Bone, Soppeng and Wajo, was
reopened after it was closed for several days, he said.

Djamaluddin said the floods had claimed six lives and
destroyed a number of school buildings, public health centers and
rice fields.

"Two victims were killed in landslides, while another four
were swept away by floods in a number of districts in Wajo,"
Jamaluddin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Two were killed in Belawa, two in Pammana and another two in
Pitumpanua districts.

The most recent victim was an elementary school student, Umar,
12, whose body was found on Sunday.

At least four people were killed when floods and a landslide
devastated residential areas in Wajo regency following a heavy
rainfall, which started on Thursday.

According to Djamaluddin, the floods were the worst in Wajo's
history and caused material losses estimated at Rp 40 billion.

"We have not finished calculating the damage, but an early
estimate suggests that total losses could reach Rp 40 billion,"
he said.

Flood victims have received medicine and food, mainly from the
Wajo administration.

Meanwhile, floods that have plagued two villages in Baruga
district, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi for the past week are
finally subsiding, but victims are choosing to stay in the
makeshift shelters out of fear of further flooding because of
threatening skies.

Baruga district chief Rivai Lamuse said on Monday that 90
residences affected by the floods were now dry.

Many flood victims who returned home on Sunday to clean up
were reluctant to stay overnight, Rivai said.

At least 175 families were forced to flee their homes last
Monday when Wanggu river, which divides the provincial capital of
Kendari, overflowed and inundated residences.

There were no reports of casualties from the floods there.

Antara reported on Monday that the Konaweha and Lahumbuti
rivers in Kendari had also overflowed, inundating at least 58
villages in eight districts of Kendari regency. In some
districts, floods reached two meters.

Districts affected by the floods include Wawotobi, Pondidaha,
Lasolo, Asera, Lambuya, Lainea Tinanggea and Moramo. Those most
affected were Lainea and Wawotobi, in which hundreds of hectares
of rice fields with crops ready to harvest, were still
inundated.

In Kolaka regency, floods hit two districts, destroying
hundreds of hectares of rice fields and a cacao plantation while
innundating a number of residential areas.