South Sulawesi's Flooding Severely Affects 123 Inalipue Villagers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -  The South Sulawesi Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) announced on Sunday that the flash floods that hit Inalipue Village in Wajo District on Saturday have severely affected 123 residents from 40 households.

Eleven residents from five affected households had even taken refuge to safer places after the flooding severely damaged their houses, the agency's head, Nimal Lahamang, said in Makassar.

The catastrophe that occurred following heavy rainfall and overflowing river damaged nine houses, a village office building, and two school buildings, as well as affected 40 other houses, he said.

The agency has supplied humanitarian aid and logistics to the affected village as rescuers continued their endeavors to evacuate those severely affected by the flooding, he added.

The flooding that hit Inalipue Village in Wajo District, South Sulawesi Province, this week is one of the natural disaster events in Indonesia this year.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded 1,423 natural disaster events in different parts of Indonesia between January 1 and June 15, 2021.

The catastrophes did not only kill at least 493 people and cause 68 others to go missing but they also affected 5,206,534 people, many of whom were forced to seek refuge elsewhere.

The agency further noted that floods, whirlwinds, landslides, and bush and forest fires were the most common disaster events reported in the country.

As many as 135,187 homes and 2,920 public facilities were damaged in their aftermath.

According to the BNPB, Indonesia recorded 592 floods, 394 whirlwinds, and 288 landslides in the first half of this year.

Read: Jakarta Deputy Gov: Mitigating Floods Not an Easy Task

ANTARA