VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Search and rescue workers distribute staple food and meal packages. (FOTO ANTARA/Firman) - 

Search and rescue (SAR) workers in South Kalimantan on Saturday continued to hand out staple food and meal packages to flood victims in five villages of Satui Sub-district, Tanah Bumbu District.

"For three consecutive days, we prioritize the distribution of staple food and meal packages to the flood victims," Head of the SAR Agency-Banjarmasin Office Slamet Riyadi remarked.

The flash floods, triggered by high-intensity rains on Wednesday, continue to submerge several houses in the villages of Sejahtera Mulia, Jombang, Sinar Bulan, Sungai Danau, and Satui Barat.

The floodwaters, reaching heights of between one meter and 1.5 meters, affected some 3,421 households, or 11,558 residents, Riyadi noted, adding that several of them had sought refuge in safer places.

The local authorities have built temporary shelters at a junior high school building in Sinar Bulan Village and a community hall in Sungai Danau Village for the displaced.

Riyadi noted that several residents were staying in their two-storied houses and not heeding to the rescuers’ suggestion to take refuge in safer places.

Various parts of Indonesia are prone to natural disasters. Within the initial two months of 2021, several hydrological disasters had struck the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

In Java Island, landslides had hit Cihanjuang Village in Cimanggung Sub-district, Sumedang District, West Java Province.

On February 6, flash floods inundated Semarang's Kota Lama (Old Town) neighborhood and several other areas of this capital city of Central Java Province.

The Indonesian government attributed extreme rainfall and tidal flooding to the flash floods submerging Semarang City.

Meanwhile, in Sumatra Island, flash floods and a landslide damaged seven homes and broke a bridge in Wih Ni Durin Village, Syiah Utama Sub-district, Bener Meriah District, Aceh Province, following incessant heavy rains in the Gayo highland area.

In the island of Kalimantan, massive floods and landslides also hit several parts of South Kalimantan Province following incessant downpour on January 12, 2021.

The floods affected the districts of Banjar, Tapin, Tabalong, Balangan, and Hulu Sungai Tengah and the cities of Tanah Laut and Banjar Baru.

The massive floods, triggered by incessant heavy rains, reportedly claimed 15 lives, swamped 24,379 houses, and displaced 39,549 people//ANT