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Flash floods in East Lombok displace hundreds, damage facilities
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Local people cross an emergency staircase after a bridge collapsed as a result of flash floods that hit several locations in Sambelia district of East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday. The floods struck over the weekend after several days of high intensity rain. (Antara/Ahmad Subaidi)
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lash floods that took place in several parts of Sambelia district in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, over the weekend have inundated residential areas and displaced around 500 people.
High-intensity rainfall on Lombok Island from Friday to Saturday caused floods that cut access to some locations, the head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency's (BPBD) West Nusa Tenggara office Muhammad Rum said.
BPBD data show that up to Tuesday, there were residents taking shelter in three villages in the district, namely Kolah, Darakunci and Menanga Reak.
"The three locations were isolated because the bridge heading there was destroyed due to the floods," Rum said on Tuesday.
Besides displacing people, the floods in Sambelia district had also damaged houses and a bridge, which cut road access.
Floods had also caused a bridge to collapse in Sambelia village, while in Sugian village, a section of an embankment in the Kokok Pendek River collapsed, preventing road access, damaging an elementary school building and causing minor damages to at least 75 houses.
Rum said the local stakeholders were working to manage the floods. BPBD along with the Indonesian Military (TNI), the police and the National Search and Rescue Agency had begun efforts to build emergency roads and emergency staircases for the affected areas to help facilitate aid distribution.
"The joint team had also evacuated people to several shelters and established soup kitchens," he said, adding that the team had also sent out logistics aid in the form of mineral water, food, blankets, mattresses, medicine and clothes.
