Samarinda flood victims waiting for aid

The Jakarta Post ,  Samarinda   |  Fri, 12/26/2008 2:42 PM  |  National

Several flood victims in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, said they have yet to receive any aid even though floodwaters have swamped their homes for four days, tempointeraktif.com reported Friday.

Suwanto and Amirullah, residents in Gunung Lingai and Sidodadi villages of Samarinda, both said they had not received any assistance from regional authorities despite the difficulties they are having getting food.

Samarinda's assistant secretary for social welfare Diwansyah said his office had not disbursed supplies to two villages because the priority was getting rice to Temindung Permai village, the worst-hit area.

"We distributed 31.5 tons of rice to Temindung Permai village residents and we'll be channeling an additional 40 tons to victims in other villages," he said.

The administration, he added, had set up some temporary health centers to help out victims who have taken ill during the flooding.

On Tuesday, the Karangmumus river overflowed, drenching hundreds of houses, a campus, and the frontier Termindung airport for small aircraft in the province.

The 1-meter-high floodwaters have submerged residences and forced the local branch of the state-owned electricity utility PT PLN to cut power to avoid shorts and electrical fires. (ewd)
 

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