T

he Trans-Sulawesi highway, which was earlier completely cut off by a mudslide in Boyangtongo village, South Parigi district, Parigi Moutong regency in Central Sulawesi, is now passable for all types of vehicles.

“All vehicles can now pass although trucks and buses have to ford the river, which is currently shallow. The bridge is currently being rebuilt by the local Public Works Office,” Parigi Moutong Regent Samsurizal Tombolotutu told The Jakarta Post in Parigi on Tuesday.

Samsurizal said that traffic heading from Banggai, Poso and Morowali to provincial capital Palu was forced to take the alternative Sanginora-Napu route, which was treacherous and time consuming, ever since the Boyangtongo bridge collapsed due to a mudslide.

The normal route only takes between four and five hours via Parigi, while it could take up to nine hours via the Sanginora-Napu route.

Traffic from Makassar has to travel on the western route to Mamuju in West Sulawesi, while motorcycles must cross the river by motorized boat or raft.

The flash floods on Aug. 25 hit a number of villages in South Parigi district and damaged the 150-meter long Boyangtongo bridge, which was built in 1993.

At the mean time, residents, together with members from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police as well as volunteers from the Disaster Response (Tagana) team have started cleaning up homes covered by mud.

Parigi Moutong Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Ramli Borman said residents in a number of villages hit by the mudslide had been cleaning their homes in the past several days.

“TNI, police and Tagana members alongside residents are engaged in community help to clean up homes, gather debris and salvage the remaining household utensils and furniture,” said Ramli.

He added his agency had coordinated with relevant parties to restore power and communication connections.

During the mudslide, power was cut, affecting thousands of households in South Parigi district.

“Thank God, the condition has returned to normal now,” he said.

The mudslide in Parigi Moutong regency forced at least 1,450 people to take shelter, with six villages ravaged by floods and Lemusa and Boyantongo villages taking the brunt.

At least 34 homes were completely swept away by the floods, 242 others inundated, 83 badly damaged and 72 slightly damaged. The area of damaged cacao plantation and rice fields reached 618 hectares and 1,125 hectares respectively.

The Boyangtongo bridge broke in the middle and was swept away up to 20 meters from its original position by floods.

Besides that, a 4-kilometer stretch of the village road was badly damaged, 3,000 meters of irrigation channels ruined, and 15 motorcycles and 39 heads of cattle swept away by the floods.