Floods, landslides kill one in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi

JAKARTA: JULY 8 – Floods and landslides in three districts in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province have killed one person and submerged more than 1,000 houses, the country’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said on Thursday.

“The three districts hit by wet hydrometeorological disasters are Jeneponto, Bantaeng, and Sinjai,” BNPB’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari said.

Heavy rains have fallen since early Wednesday and submerged houses between 50 and 200 cm high in Jeneponto, where the floods killed one resident. Government buildings, schools, health care offices and 148 houses were inundated, with 26 houses heavily damaged.

The floods are gradually receding, while officials are distributing humanitarian assistance and collecting data on those affected, Muhari added.

In Sinjai district, heavy rains since Thursday caused floods and landslides in five villages, and eight families were forced to evacuate. About 1,000 houses in eight villages were flooded by 50 cm high, and officials are still assessing the impact of the floods in the Bantaeng district.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency have predicted heavy rains in South Sulawesi province and other areas on Sulawesi island such as Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi from Friday to Wednesday.

-XINHUA