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Floods, landslides kill three, elephant as thousands flee

Flooding devastated Tenggamus regency, Lampung, on Monday, leaving two children dead, while another person and elephant were buried alive in a landslide as three other victims remained missing

Oyos Saroso H.N. (The Jakarta Post)
Bandarlampung
Tue, October 6, 2009

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Floods, landslides kill three, elephant as thousands flee

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looding devastated Tenggamus regency, Lampung, on Monday, leaving two children dead, while another person and elephant were buried alive in a landslide as three other victims remained missing.

The floods and landslides followed heavy rains in the last two days across the regency.

The two children, five-year-old Suci Wulandari and six-year-old Rina, both residents from Semaka district, were drowned in the overflowing Way Kerap river. Their bodies were recovered late Sunday evening.

Another victim was an unidentified 40-year-old woman who was swallowed up by the landslide at Sedayu village in Semaka district.

Her body was taken to the Kota Agung public hospital for an autopsy.

"We still searching for three remaining victims," Tanggamus Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Deny Pujianto said Monday.

Suci's mother Masnah, 33, said she had panicked when floodwaters suddenly hit along with a landslide.

"I still remember the quake disaster in West Sumatra, so although there was no quake here we panicked because the flood was accompanied by a landslide," she said.

"The landslide produced a strong sound. I dropped my daughter when I was running away for safety."

Rina was similarly drowned after being carried by her 40-year old father, Aprianto.

"We panicked because our house was flooded. I had tried to catch up with my daughter but to no avail due to surging flows of water," Aprianto said Monday.

The flood has forced thousands of residents at a number of villages in Semaka to flee to safe areas since Sunday evening.

"Some of them fled to Bandar Lampung for safety," said one refugee Siswoyo, 35.

The disaster also claimed the life of a wild elephant that used to wander around at Pardawaras village.

The animal was killed in a landslide .

Apart from Semaka, four other districts in Tenggamus - Kota Agung, Wonosobo, Pematangsawa, and Bandarnegeri Semuong - were also submerged in floodwaters.

At least four houses were swept away by the floods, while the landslide in Semaka also cut off a major road crossing the National Bukit Barisan Park and connecting Tenggamus and West Lampung regencies as well as Bengkulu province.

"There are three landslide spots along the trans-western road - respectively in the villages Pardawaras, Way Kerap and Sedayu," Tanggamus Regent Bambang Kurniawan said Monday.

He said he had coordinated with the Lampung public works office to reopen the landslide-buried road in a week.

He blamed the flooding on "illegal logging" and destruction of water catchment areas in Tenggamus.

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