Hundreds of houses drowned in mud. The floods which have ravaged the Indonesian island of Celebes since Monday have left at least 21 people dead, local authorities announced on Wednesday. Six new bodies, including that of a child, have been discovered since the previous day's report, which reported 15 deaths.
"The number of missing persons may increase as several villages have not provided exact data on their missing residents," said Muhammad Rizal, a director of the local agency responsible for natural disasters.
At the start of the week, torrential rains brought three streams out of their beds. Houses, public buildings and government offices are now covered with flooded mud three to five meters high.
1,600 refugees in temporary shelters
About 1,600 residents have taken refuge in temporary shelters, but floods and mud hamper food distribution efforts, the agency said.
The northern Luwu region is prone to this kind of natural disaster, said Adi Maulana, a geologist at the University of Hasanuddin (south of the island of Celebes). “The distance between the plains and the mountains is very short. So if the upstream area is not well conserved, floods will occur each rainy season, ”said the academic.
At the start of the year, torrential rains had caused floods in which nearly 70 people had died in and around Jakarta, on the island of Java. These were the deadliest floods since 2013 in the Jakarta region.
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VIDEO. Indonesia floods kill at least 43 in January 2020