When Flash Floods Take Lives

KOMPAS/RENY SRI AYU

Dozens of houses in Radda Village, Baebunta District, North Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi, Wednesday (11/11/2020) were abandoned by their residents. This village experienced flash floods on Monday (13/7/2020). The flood was caused by the overflow of three large rivers, namely the Radda River, Masamba River and Rongkong River.

On Thursday (12/11/2020) afternoon, Udin Battangan, 77, visited his house in Radda village, Baebunta district, North Luwu, South Sulawesi. Alone, he then cleaned his house of the trash littering it inside. Unfortunately, he can no longer live there as it had been hit by flash floods in July.

Udin\'s house was one of thousands of houses affected by flash floods in the district, which is about 450 kilometers north of Makassar. The house he had lived in for almost 10 years and is located more than 100 meters from the Radda River, is now buried in dry mud 2 m deep.

Mud, scattered tree trunks and piles of various materials brought by the floods about four months ago can be seen on both sides of the Radda, Rongkong and Masamba rivers in North Luwu.

Also read: Tackling Floods Together

Based on data from the North Luwu Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the flash floods of July damaged more than 3,000 houses in 24 villages. The disaster also displaced more than 4,000 families with 13,400 people.

The flash flood in North Luwu is one of about 900 floods that occurred in the country from Jan. 1 to Nov. 20. Based on data from the National Disaster Management Agency, during that period, there were more than 2,535 weather-related (hydrometeorology) disasters that forced 5.5 million people out of their homes.

DOKUMENTASI BPBD LUWU UTARA

A house in Radda Village, Baebunta, North Luwu was buried by flash flood material, including logs, Tuesday (14/7/2020). Flash floods hit six sub-districts in North Luwu on Monday (13/7/2020) night

Longing

Udin does not visit his house in Radda village every day. He visits the house only if he longs for it and feels bored at the rented house in which he is currently living. Often times, if it is too hot in his rented house and he cannot go to his house in Radda, he sleeps at the courtyard of the mosque.

"At the rented house, it\'s hard to sleep. It\'s very hot and stuffy, especially for the seven of us,” said the retired teacher.

He has been living in the house for three months with his son and daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Two of his grandchildren are orphans and have been cared for by Udin since they were little.

Also read: Reinforcing Disaster Management Policies

The house, which he rents for Rp 700,000 (US$49.62) per month, only has two rooms, a small living room and a small kitchen. He was unable to find a bigger rental. His rice field and cocoa plantation are buried in mud. His monthly allowance as a pensioner is less than Rp 2 million.

Indeed, Udin receives housing allowance or allowance before getting a house (DTH) from the government amounting to Rp 500,000 per month. However, that has not been enough.

Amir KM, 57, a survivor from Satek hamlet, Bone subdistrict, Masamba, is facing similar struggles. He lives in a temporary shelter in Bossi hamlet, Kapuna subdistrict, with 20 other families.

"My old house cannot be found. It’s on the riverbank. I certainly hope there will be permanent house soon. In this temporary shelter, there is no clean water. We don\'t even have any furniture, especially for cooking. The garden can no longer be cultivated," he said.

HUMAS POLDA PAPUA

Members of the Kaureh Police helped evacuate the belongings of residents affected by the flood in Purnawajati Village, Yapsi District, Jayapura Regency on Thursday (12/11/2020).

Returning home

Under pressure, Udin started to make plans. He intends to demolish the remains of his house in Radda, then take the materials that he can use to build huts on the same location of the old house. "Until now, it is not clear when we can get permanent house," he said.

Not only Udin and Amir are waiting for permanent homes but also thousands of other residents who fell victims to the flood.

Muslim Muchtar, the Head of the North Luwu Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), conceded that there are no houses yet to be built.

Also read: Climate Crisis and Jakarta Flood

"The decision is to immediately build permanent houses, not temporary ones. However, until now, the plan is still in the land acquisition process," he said.

Hasanuddin University Disaster Center head Adi Maulana said the government should immediately finish building permanent houses so that residents’ lives can go back to normal. Post-flood area reform and restoration of upstream river areas are absolutely necessary to reduce the risk of a recurrence of a similar disaster, he added.

This means that the river capacity is no longer able to accommodate water if there is heavy rain.

Based on preliminary calculations, millions of cubic meters of material are now buried in the Radda, Rong Kong and Masamba rivers. In the Masamba River, for example, the vertical distance between the river surface and the bridge is currently only 2 m from the previous 8-10 m.

Also read: Residents Tired of Recurring Floods

"This means that the river capacity is no longer able to accommodate water if there is heavy rain," Adi said.

During this rainy season, the mapping and monitoring of landslides in the upstream area has also not been done. In fact, landslide material in the mountainous region is the cause of flash floods.

In addition to the impacts of disasters that occurred months ago, thousands evacuees of the June 2019 flash flood in North Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, have not yet been fully handled. Similar situations have been experienced by residents in Jayapura regency, Papua, who were victims of flash floods from the Cycloop Mountains Nature Reserve in March 2019.

"We involuntarily return to the BTN Nauli housing complex. If it rains hard for hours, we must be ready to escape and save ourselves,” said Orpa Arim, 22, who has been living at a rented house with relatives for 10 months. The housing estate was hit by mudflow that slid like a river during a flash flood.

For the survivors, living in a rented house or returning to their old home is both uncomfortable and high-risk. Like Orpa and other disaster survivors, conditions leave them with no choice.