Swept Away: Flash Flood Kills 100 People in Sentani, 74 Still Missing
Sentani. A huge flash flood hit Sentani near Jayapura in Papua on Sunday (17/03). According to the latest count from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), at least 100 people have died, 159 are injured and 74 still missing.
Search and rescue teams are focusing their effort on finding possible survivors at the Gajah Mada housing estate in the city.
The injured are being treated at the Youwari Hospital, school clinics, community health centers (Puskesmas) and makeshift shelters that have been erected by soldiers of the local Cenderawasih Military Command.
Critics say deforestation in the mountain area north of the city and a huge, seven-hour 248.5-milimeter rainfall combined to cause a massive flash flood on Sunday.
According to them, extreme environmental damage on the slopes of Cyclops Mountains has been recorded since 2003.
The water catchment area in the city has also been decimated by new housing being built, with 43,030 people or 753 families moving into the area since 2003.
The latest update from BNBP said that 6,831 people have been evacuated to 15 shelters around the city, the largest of them being Gunung Merah and Gajah Mada.
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