Flash Floods Kill 21 in East Kalimantan

The rainy season in Indonesia has caused its fair share of disasters and the latest being that at least 21 people were killed in floods triggered by heavy rain on the small island of Laut off the southern coast of Kalimantan.

Twenty others were missing in this second flooding-related disaster after flash floods hit southern Sulawesi, east of Kalimantan, killing more than 200 residents last week according to the Antara News Agency.

Unfortunately assistance was hampered by the destruction of bridges leading to the area in flooding. Fortunately it seems several residents initially reported missing had been found alive.

The flash floods that began Friday continued Monday with thousands of homes and ricefields under two meters of water and the hardest hit districts are Dumoga Timur, Dumoga Utara and Dumoga Selatan. Regency officials said 2,500 homes and some 3,000 hectares of ricefields which were about to be harvested were still flooded. A total of 22 schools are severely damaged.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated to higher ground while the administration had started constructing temporary shelters. The regency is sending 27 tons of rice, 15,000 tins of tuna, 150 tent covers and Rp 20 million in cash to help the displaced residents.