Floods triggered by heavy rains have killed two people in Tanah Bumbu regency, South Kalimantan, and inundated hundreds of hectares of rice paddies in Kerinci regency, Jambi.
Two people drowned after they became trapped in a submerged truck owned by privately run coal producer PT Berkat Benua Indah in Satui district on Friday.
Chef Atik, 40, was found dead Saturday while the driver, Sukardi (50) was found on Sunday, Satui police chief First Insp. Angga F. Herlambang said Monday.
The pair died after a strong flood current hit and damaged the truck they were trapped in.
Four others who were also in the truck managed to escape. These were Alfian, 32, Darsono, 40, Iwan, 22, and Abdul Latif, 55.
Floods have killed five people in South Kalimantan in the past two weeks. Three other victims were university student Zaenal who was killed in Sungai Loban village, Tanah Bumbu regency, while Sukardi, 50, and Yusuf Suko Sujarno, 40, were killed after a flood hit and submerged their car in Tanah Laut regency in late August.
"We regret this situation. We anticipated severe floods by preparing staff in potentially affected areas," South Kalimantan Environmental Impact Management Agency head Rahmadi Kurdi said.
Floods have submerged at least six villages in Tanah Bumbu regency which are Sebamban Lama, Sebamban Baru, Sebamban Kampung, Sungai Danau, Satui and Sekapuk.
Kotabaru regency has also suffered from the floods which have damaged several public facilities, such as school buildings, mosques and a suspension bridge.
The South Kalimantan floods were triggered by torrential rain, Angga said.
However, A member of Tanah Laut disaster mitigation task force, Suratno, said the floods were caused by forest conversion into residential areas.
"The degradation of forests and prolonged heavy rains have triggered severe flooding in Tanah Laut regency which borders on Tanah Bumbu regency," Suratno said.
Separately, heavy rains have also caused severe flooding in Kerinci regency, Jambi, damaging 100 hectares of rice fields in Hamparan Rawang, Tanah Kampung, Keliling Danau and Kumun Debai districts.
Signs that rice fields would be flooded have emerged, especially those next to Batang Merao River and near Kerinci Lake.
Farmers, especially those downstream of Mt. Kerinci, worried that the situation could worsen as the regency is being hit by daily downpours and the tributaries are already flooded.
Upstream areas in Kayu Aro and Mt. Kerinci have also been hit by the daily downpours, adding to farmers' anxiety.
Farmers are worried that heavy rains could cause flooding similar to last year's, when thousands of hectares of paddies were inundated.
One farmer, Rustam, said he was worried the heavy rains could continue.
"Many rice paddies are already inundated from Rawang toward Kerinci Lake," he said.
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