Indonesia: Gorontalo declares flood emergency

Antara 26 Oct 16;

Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - The Gorontalo authorities have declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after floods hit nine sub-districts.

The flood-affected sub-districts were Limboto, West Limboto, Tolangohula, Tibawa, Asparaga, Bilato, Dungaliyo, Tilango and Boliyohuto, Doni Lahatie, head of local disaster mitigation office (BPBD), said here on Wednesday.

Three rivers, namely Marisa, Bionga and Moloopu, overflowed and flooded residential areas following incessant heavy rains that have been lashing the region since Tuesday.

Some 3,000 houses were inundated, affecting 15 thousand people in 20 villages in the nine sub-districts, he informed.

A number of flood victims in West Limboto, Limboto and Tibawa were evacuated to higher grounds.

"We have distributed packets of instant food and set up public kitchens in several places affected by flooding," Lahatie informed.(*)


Gorontalo hospital flooded, dozens of patients moved
Syamsul Huda M.Suhari The Jakarta Post 27 Oct 16;

A major flood in Gorontalo regency, Gorontalo province, hit more than a thousand houses on Wednesday including Dunda Limboto Hospital, forcing the management there to move 80 patients to several emergency shelters such as meeting hall Kasmat Lahay.

The flood affected 4,296 people form 1,222 families, Sucipto Abdullah of the Gorontalo Social Affairs Agency said Wednesday.

Heavy rains from Tuesday to Wednesday caused rivers to overflow and a broken embankment, which left houses inundated with water as high as 1.2 meters in several places. Nine districts were hit by the flood, namely Asparaga, Bilato, Boliyohuto, Dungoliyo, Limboto, Limboto Barat, Tibawa, Tilango and Tolangohula.

The flood in the hospital reached an adult’s ankle.

Besides Gorontalo regency, Bone Bolango and Boalemo regencies were also hit by flood.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned about heavy rains from Oct. 25 to 27 in West Java, Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Maluku, Southeast Maluku regency, West Papua and Papua. (evi)


Flood displaces thousands in Gorontalo
Syamsul Huda M.Suhari The Jakarta Post 27 Oct 16;

Heavy rain for two days has caused rivers and a lake to overflow in Gorontalo, flooding thousands of houses in three regencies.

Gorontalo Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Gorontalo) recorded the three affected regencies as Bone Bolango, Boalemo and Gorontalo.

Gorontalo is the worst-hit regency with at least nine districts inundated with floodwater to a depth of up to 1.2 meters displacing 4,296 people.

“The floods have affected 1,222 families. Some are remaining in their houses,” Sucipto Abdullah, an official at the Gorontalo Social Affairs Agency, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The nine districts affected are Boliyohuto, Asparaga, Bilato, Limboto, West Limboto, Tibawa, Tolangohula, Dungaliyo and Tilango.

In Tibawa district, people were evacuated to higher roadsides. In West Limboto, two residents had to be rushed to hospital after being hit by a falling tree.

The floods also hit a local police station and the regency-owned Dunda Limboto Hospital from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning.

The hospital was forced to move 80 patients to several locations including the Kasmat Lahay hall near the regent’s office as ankle-deep floodwaters inundated the wards.

The floods mostly have subsided but some regions including Bolihuangga are still inundated. The flooding hit Bolihuangga after the nearby Lake Limboto, the biggest in Gorontalo province, overflowed.

In Bone Bolango regency flooding hit Bulango district after the Bulango River broke its banks.

In Boalemo regency, flooding hit a number of subdistricts. At least 390 houses and 612 hectares of agricultural fields were inundated up to a depth of 2 meters.

“It was relatively challenging for us because we don’t have a mobile public kitchen that can reach remote areas,” said Mus Soha, the head of Boalemo disaster agency.

Gorontalo environmental activist Rahman Dako said that apart from the extreme weather, the widespread floods were caused by extensive environmental destruction in the region.

He cited as an example that the 3,301-hectare Lake Limboto had at least 86,861 hectares of hinterland.

However, he said, the hinterland currently had only some 10 percent of forestry. The remaining 90 percent had been converted into other functions ranging from agriculture, oil palm plantations, production forest and mining sites to residential complexes.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) previously issued an early warning on potential heavy rain for Oct. 25 to 27 in Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Maluku, Southeast Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

Sudden flooding hit some parts of the city of Bandung, West Java, on Monday afternoon, including Jl. Dr. Djunjunan (better known as Jl. Pasteur and Jl. Pagarsih), sweeping away several cars and causing the death of a resident.