By 7:40 p.m. local time on Saturday, the heavy rain had inundated 95 houses occupied by a total of 420 people in Molowahu village, Tibawa district.

'€œThe flash flooding was caused by the collapse of an embankment used to irrigate paddy fields in the village, submerging the villagers'€™ houses in water up to 1 meter deep,'€ Hasna Datau, head of disaster emergency response at the Gorontalo Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said on Sunday.

Hasna said the 3,000-meter-long embankment had been destroyed by water flowing in, resulting in Molowahu being the worst-hit area.

Early on Sunday, Molowahu was also hit by a landslide; however, no fatalities have been reported.

Landslides also occurred in three other villages '€“ Bukit Aren in Pulubala district, and Juria and Totopo villages in Bilato district.

In Bukit Aren, landslides destroyed a water channel in East Tuawo hamlet, while in Hulawalu hamlet, a landslide cut off a road.

Hasna said locals in the three districts had chosen to stay in their homes despite the flooding. '€œThe estimated losses, including the damage to agricultural land, are not yet known.'€

An increasingly severe rainy season has affected Gorontalo and its surrounding areas for the past month. (ebf)

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