Flash Floods Jolt Adonara
The flash floods, have been the worst hydrometeorological disaster in the history of Adonara. Disasters come abruptly and often claim dozens of lives.
Under heavy rain, residents of Nelelamadiken village in Adonara Island, East Florest regency, East Nusa Tenggara, came one after another to the church to celebrate Easter Night on Saturday (3/4/2021).
No one was realizing the pounding rain was building a threating deluge of soil and rocks to the north of the village.
The church service was over, and the congregants made their way back home to prepare for the festivity the following morning.
Many of them, especially mothers, were busy making cakes until late. It is their custom that they will open their doors to anyone to come for celebrations.
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Midnight passed and the battering rain did not relent. Living on high ground at the back Ile Boleng Mountain, the residents were not aware of the threats from the brittle soil and rocks piled by the mountain’s past explosion, nor of the risk posed by the river running across the village.
We thought it was just the normal rain we usually have, like the previous years. The danger never crossed our minds.
Almost everybody in the village, which is home to 1.246 people or 366 households, was already asleep when the disaster happened.
“We thought it was just the normal rain we usually have, like the previous years. The danger never crossed our minds,” Natalia Uba Arakian said by phone. She is the Nelelamadiken administration’s secretary.
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At around 1:30 a.m., a thundering sound was heard from the north. The ground was shaking. People were awakened from their sleep, thinking it was an earthquake. A scream for help broke out but was suddenly overtaken by the thundering sound.
Within just a moment, some 30 houses on the river bank were flattened.
“It was like a tsunami,” Natalia said, trying to describe the scene.
In the darkness of the night, they strived to find victims, some having been swept a hundreds of meters away.
Nelelamadiken has appeared as the worst-hit place with the highest number of victims. As many as 43 residents were later found dead with another 14 still missing as of Monday (5/4).
Sorrow elsewhere
The mourning has also been overwhelming in Waiwerang subdistrict and Waiburak village, about 14 kilometers to the west of Nelelamadiken.
The village was also hard hit by the overflowing river. Katarina Kewa (38) recalled how she and other family members were awakened at around 2 a.m. by the rushing water, with their house located just 20 meters from the riverbank.
The collapsed houses were built of concrete, like ours. We are astonished our house still stands.
Upon opening the door, she saw the flooding, 1 meter high. Several houses had become ruins. They clung on inside their house for more than four hours.
“The collapsed houses were built of concrete, like ours. We are astonished our house still stands,” she said.
At around 6 a.m., when the sun was rising, they walked out of the house.
They waded across the water for more than 200 meters to a hill. Another resident of Waiwerang, Moses Yanubi (62) said he, with one of his children, had decided to rush out soon when the river was beginning to overflow.
They had hardly reached a safe place when stronger waves of flash floods hit their area. Moses had been carried away 50 meters before getting to safety. “Luckily there was a tree we managed to hold onto for more than two hours,” he said.
They are now undergoing treatment at the Waiwerang state Islamic high school, which has been turned into a shelter for most of the survivors in Adonara.
Adonara Island is inhibited by some 90,000 people, with Waiwerang, located on the shore, the most densely populated.
Hundreds of houses are left in ruins. Some of them have ended up in the sea. About 18 kilometers to the west of Waiwerang, the flash floods have also taken a toll, with three residents of Oyangbarang still missing and dozens of houses destroyed.
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Transportation in Adonara is severely disrupted as several bridges, such as Waiburak on the island’s main road, have collapsed. Some road sections are badly damaged.
The disaster has aroused a sense of solidarity among the islanders, with many coming to the shelter to offer help.
A number of women were seen carrying food to the shelter. The survivors were still waiting for government aid as of Monday. “The government aid is said to be on the way. We understand. It is not easy to reach Adonara because of the bad weather,” Saleh Kadir, a volunteer in Waiwerang, said.
The flash floods, which were caused by extreme rain triggered by a tropical cyclone, have been the worst hydrometeorological disaster in the history of Adonara.
Disasters come abruptly and often claim dozens of lives.
This article was translated by Musthofid.