Indonesia: Emergency Period in Flood-Hit Bima Extended by a Week

Alin Almanar Jakarta Globe 5 Jan 17;

Jakarta. The government has decided to extend the emergency period in the flood-hit Bima district of West Nusa Tenggara by a week on Thursday (05/01) as several public services have yet to be restored.

The emergency period was initially set to end on Thursday, two weeks after floodwaters inundated 30 villages in five subdistricts, which affected more than 100,000 residents.

There were nearly 1,000 residents remaining in nine evacuation shelters by Thursday, as health, education and other public facilities were still inaccessible, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

"The extension of the emergency period is necessary for field teams to complete their work targets involving the environment, as well as education and health facilities," Sutopo said in a statement.

Last month's flooding damaged more than 60 health centers and 27 education facilities, while 230 homes were swept away, 716 heavily damaged, 739 moderately damaged and more than 17,700 submerged.


Flood emergency response period extended for 14 days in Bima
Antara 6 Jan 17;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The flood emergency response period in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, has been extended from January 6 to 19, Data Information Center and Public Relations of the National Disaster Mitigation Agencys Chief Sutopo Purwo Nugroho stated.

"Two weeks after the flash floods in Bima on December 21 and 23, the situation has not fully recovered," Nugroho remarked in a written statement received here on Thursday.

He said that following the flash floods, some problems were still being encountered in areas, such as education, garbage handling, health, and the refugee crisis, which must be resolved, and thus, it was decided to extend the emergency response period for 14 days.

In the meantime, Prijono, head of the Bank Indonesia (BI) Office in West Nusa Tenggara, stated in Mataram on Wednesday that BI had, so far, distributed 693 aid packages to the victims of flash floods in Bima.

He said the aid packages were from the Association of BIs Employees, BIs central office, and the banks representative offices.

"The total value of assistance reached Rp140 million. These funds were used to purchase aid packages for the victims, such as basic necessities, clothing, medicines, and essential items for infants," he revealed.

In addition to its contribution, BI was instructed to distribute assistance from the Regional Banking Consultative Agency of Bengkulu Province in the form of food, clothing, and educational tools worth Rp10 million, he remarked.

Based on data provided by West Nusa Tenggaras Regional Disaster Management Agency, thousands of houses in five districts in Bima City were inundated, with water levels ranging between one and three meters. A total of 105,758 inhabitants in the city were affected by the flash floods.

The value of losses incurred due to the floods was estimated to reach hundreds of billions of rupiah owing to damage to roads, bridges, telecommunication and electricity networks, public facilities, as well as local business activities.(*)


Bima emergency relief work extended to Jan. 12
Panca Nugraha The Jakarta Post 5 Jan 17;

Flash flooding in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, has left huge social problems, forcing the city administration to extend its emergency relief period which should have ended on Jan. 5, by one week to Jan. 12.

The Bima administration recorded that as of Thursday, at least 900 residents were still taking refuge in temporary shelters in nine points across the city. Activities in several schools and community health centers (Puskesmas) have not yet returned to normal as they are still not yet free of garbage and flood debris.

“Based on the results of the Bima flood mitigation team’s meeting, the emergency relief deadline will be extended by seven days to Jan. 12. This decision has been taken to make cleaning easier and because some problems in the management of displaced people have not yet been fully resolved, among other things,” Bima administration spokesperson Syahrial Nuryadin said in a statement on Thursday.

Bima suffered severe damage following a two-day flash flood on Dec.21 and Dec.23.

“In the education sector, many schools need special attention. Education facilities in several locations sustained severe damage. Many students are still suffering from trauma and do not yet have proper school equipment,” said Syahrial.

The joint clean-up team has not yet managed to achieve its target of 100 percent of areas free from garbage and flood debris. The volume of flood garbage taken to temporary trash disposal sites (TPS) has exceeded their capacities, creating more problems for the city administration.

In the health sector, only a few areas have been sterilized due to a lack of personnel, equipment and disinfectant. Syahrial said many health facilities had been cleaned of flood debris, but healthcare services were not yet optimal as many medicines and medical equipment had sustained severe damage. (ebf)