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Jayawijaya declares emergency in response to widespread floods
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Flooding inundates Wamena district in Jayawijaya, Papua Highlands from Apr. 10 to 25, 2025, following heavy rain.
(Kompas.com/Yudhi)
J
ayawijaya regency, the capital of Papua Highlands province, has declared a state of emergency following days of torrential rain that have inundated close to two dozen districts in what has been described as the worst flood that has hit the regency in years.
Jayawjiaya Regent Athenius Munib said that 22 out of 40 districts in the regency have reported inundated houses, farmlands and other infrastructures.
One of the hardest hit districts is Wamena, the administrative seat of Jayawijaya.
The floods in Jayawijaya were triggered by heavy rain from April 10 until Friday throughout the regency, which caused the Baliem River to overflow. Landslides were also reported in a handful of districts.
Athenius announced the state of emergency during a meeting with community leaders and heads of local government agencies on Saturday, hoping that the regency could speed up aid delivery.
“The emergency status is intended to save [impacted] citizens and to allow for quicker coordination. [We have] asked the district and village heads to immediately report [the number of people impacted by the floods] in their jurisdiction so that aid can be distributed accordingly,” he said, as quoted from Kompas.
Athenius said that difficult terrain severed access to inundated areas in Jayawijaya and the fact that some areas can only be reached by speedboat has hindered data collection about these areas. To speed up the process, local authorities have resorted to using instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp to gather information on the number of affected villages and victims.
