President Joko Widodo has asked that the disaster victims be evacuated and assisted as quickly as possible. Weather has hampered evacuation efforts and aid distribution.
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KOMPAS TEAM
·5 minutes read
Joy Christian / AFP
A truck that was swept away by a flash flood in Adonara, East Flores, Sunday (4/4/2021). Without heavy equipment in Adonara it is difficult to find victims.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — President Joko Widodo has instructed his aides to move to ensure quick evacuation and management efforts in the flash floods and landslides that struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). As of Monday evening (5/4/2021), the disaster had claimed more than 150 lives in the two provinces. The largest toll was in Adonara, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, where nine villages and four districts were affected.
On Monday, logistical assistance, health services and basic services for evacuees as well as infrastructure repair were prepared, distributed and their implementation evaluated.
"I ask that disaster management be carried out quickly and well," the President said Monday in a press statement released online from the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta.
The heads of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the ministers of health, social affairs and public works and housing, and the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and the National Police chief all moved immediately to deal with the impacts of the disaster, which was caused by the Seroja cyclone. At least 11 NTT areas were affected by the disaster: the provincial capital of Kupang, East Flores regency, Central Malaka, Lembata, Ngada, Alor, East Sumba, Rote Ndao, Sabu Raijua, South Central Timor, and Ende.
I ask that disaster management be carried out quickly and well.
In West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), flooding hit Bima regency to displace up to 28,208 residents. "The joint team is still evacuating [people] at present. The majority of victims had broken bones,” BNPB head Doni Monardo told a virtual conference on Sunday night. He also made assurances that the Covid-19 health protocols were being implemented as much as possible during the emergency.
On Monday morning, Doni and other members of a delegation that included Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini headed to the disaster-affected areas, bringing aid packages. From Maumere, the delegation traveled overland to Larantuka, the capital of East Flores, because bad weather prevented traveling by plane.
AP/Rofinus Monteiro
Residents see damage in a flood-affected village on Adonara Island, East Flores, Indonesia, Monday (5/4/2021). Flash floods were triggered by tropical cyclone seeds in the waters of East Nusa Tenggara.
Earlier in Bima regency, NTB, Risma visited local residents who had been affected by the floods to hand over relief aid, including ready-to-eat meals, blankets, mattresses, kitchen utensils, roll-up tents and multipurpose tents. According to data provided by the NTB Regional Disaster
Mitigation Agency (BPBD) on Monday afternoon, last Friday’s flash floods hit 46 villages in six districts in the province: Madapangga, Bolo, Woha, Monta, Palibelo, and Belo.
"At least, we will arrive in Lembata [NTT] tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will be able to set up public kitchens and evacuation camps in Lembata and Adonara tomorrow," said Risma.
In Lembata regency, flash floods on Sunday hit the two districts of Ile Ape and Ile Ape Timur. In Kupang, strong winds blew off roofs and damaged several houses.
On-site situation
Pius Pedang, the head of Nelelamadiken village, the worst affected village in Adonara, said that more than 43 residents had been killed and 14 remained missing. Dozens of houses were swept away and bridges had been damaged.
"The search [and rescue] activities are hindered by the heavy rain that continues to fall. We are worried that there will be floods or landslides at the [disaster] sites,” he said.
Nelelamadiken village, which has a population of 1,246, is located in the foothills of Mount Ile Boleng. The area has a rocky topography from volcanic materials deposited during past eruptions of the mountain. Stones were carried away in floodwaters that swept down the dry riverbed dividing the village.
We are worried that there will be floods or landslides at the [disaster] sites.
AFP/Joy Christian
The landscape of a village in Adonara, East Flores, NTT, which was filled with rocks and tree trunks was swept away by a flash flood, Sunday (4/4/2021).
In Waiwerang village, 14 kilometers west of Nelelamadiken, the bodies of at least 8 people were recovered and 4 people were reported missing. Saleh Kadir, a disaster volunteer, said local search efforts were focused at collapsed structures and along the coast.
Heavy rainfall continued as of Monday evening, raising fears of additional floods and landslides. Hundreds of residents fled to the homes of nearby relatives and to the emergency post set up at Aliyah Waiwerang state madrassa.
In East Sumba, 54 households comprising 165 people fled their homes, while 109 households comprising 475 people were affected by the flooding.
In Kupang and most other areas affected by Seroja Cyclone, the electricity supply from state electricity company (PLN) was disrupted. However, according to PLN NTT Parent Unit general manager Agustinus Jatmiko, the electricity company had restored operations at 4,885 substations, or 82 percent of the all electricity substations affected by the extreme weather.
Seroja cyclone
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had been monitoring the tropical cyclone seeds that grew into Seroja cyclone for the past two days. There were two tropical cyclone seeds, the 99S in the Savu Sea and the 90S in the waters southwest of Banten province.
Heavy rainfall and strong winds could pose a potential risk to a number of areas in the Bali-Nusa Tenggara island chain and Java, as well as parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua from 3 April to 9 April.
In response to the disaster, the TNI sent the KRI OWA-354 warship on a humanitarian mission to Adonara Island. In addition to transporting basic needs, the vessel also carried medicines. In addition, the TNI readied a C-130 Hercules aircraft to carry personnel and emergency aid. (INA/MTK/ZAK/ETA/FRN/DIA/TAM/OKA/FLO/AIK/TAN)
