On Saturday, the floods in Sentani, near the provincial capital of Jayapura, were triggered by torrential rain and subsequent landslides.
According to official reports, at least 50 people have been killed by flash floods in Indonesia’s eastern Papua province. Rescuers had evacuated 63 bodies till now and are still rushing to search and rescue dozens of missing people.
The spokesman of national disaster agency said that, dozens of homes were damaged by floodwaters. He further added, the number of casualties and impact of the disaster is likely to increase, as search and rescue teams are still trying to reach other affected areas.
Uprooted trees and other debris were strewn across muddy roads, while at Jayapura’s small airport, a propeller plane lay partly crushed on a runway.
Indonesia has over the past few months been hit by a series of natural disasters. In fact, flooding is not uncommon in Indonesia, especially during the rainy season which runs from October to April.
In January, floods and landslides killed at least 70 people on Sulawesi Island, while earlier this month hundreds in West Java province were forced to evacuate when torrential rains triggered severe flooding.
The floods come just a month after the Indonesian authorities declared a state of emergency in February on Siau island following the continuous eruption of lava and ash from Karangetang volcano.
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