Floods hit Kotabaru, S. Kalimantan

ncessant downpours over the past few days have triggered floods in Kotabaru, South Kalimantan.

Four houses were swept away by the floods and four elementary schools were closed as they were submerged by the flood waters reaching a height of up to 50 centimeters, a local resident said.

The flood-affected elementary schools were state-run SDN Sungai Kupang I, SDN Sungai Kupang II, SDN Karang Payau, SDN Banua Lawas, and Nurul Mustaffa Islamic elementary school.

At Gendang Timburu village, Sungai Durian subdistrict, 1.5-meter high floods swept away four houses and submerged several roads. At Gagaiyan village, Hampang subdistrict, transportation line was totally paralyzed as roads were inundated.

Meanwhile, in Morowali District, Central Sulawesi Province, tens of people were killed and more than 80 villagers ere missing and feared dead in the floods and landslides. The disaster also seriously injured 22 people.

Morowali District`s agriculture service chief Yan Lamandasa said that the floods and landsides, the worst ever hit the district, damaged thousands of hectares of farming areas. Vegetables, paddy and cacao plants on the farmlands might most likely be lost, he said.

In addition to South Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi, other provinces of Indonesia, including South Sulawesi and North Sumatra, Aceh and West Kalimantan, were also hit by floods. (*)