At least 50 dead in devastating deluge in Indonesian province (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
At least 50 people have died and 59 have been injured in severe flash flooding that hit Indonesia's Papua province. People, vehicles, and homes were swept away by torrents of water, as roads turned into rivers overnight.
Disconcerting photos and film have been coming from Indonesia's Sentani area in Jayapura Regency in Papua province, showing streets submerged with logs and debris floating in the water.
Hujan Semakin deras, tingkatlan kewaspadaan. Situasi terakhir seputaran pasar lama sentani.@PolresJayapura@bpbd_papua@BNPB_Indonesiapic.twitter.com/notS0qEGF3
— Binmas Polres Jayapura (@binmas_resjypr) March 16, 2019
Officials confirmed Sunday that at least 50 people have been killed and a further 59 badly injured. The National Disaster Agency (BNPB) reported that the flash floods have caused many casualties and expansive damage to the nine villages in the Sentani area.
Korban banjir bandang di Sentai terus bertambah. HinggaMinggu (17/3/2019) pukul 08.30 WIB, tercatat dampak banjir bandang sebanyak 42 orang meninggal dunia, dan 21 orang luka-luka. Diperkirakan korban masih akan bertambah karena evakuasi masih berlangsung. pic.twitter.com/EujZd0SMdL
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) March 17, 2019
Footage posted by the BNPB shows a small aircraft being badly damaged as people gather outside.
Mohon dukungan doa dari saudara setanah Air untuk musibah banjir bandang yang baru saja menerjang wilayah Kabupaten Jayapura khususnya Sentani dan sekitarnya Akses beberapa jembatan putus akibat derasnya material air dan lumpur. Puluhan korban meninggal 😓😭 #PrayForJayapurapic.twitter.com/w1bmF07oZs
— PERSIPURA (@PERSIPURA_) March 16, 2019
At least one car was washed away by the deluge and three bridges have sustained heavy damage, the spokesman for the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, tweeted.
Several residents were dragged away by the flood water as it ripped through villages, he said.
The flooding triggered mudslides, making the roads almost impassable.
Massive flooding in Sentani, Jayapura Regency last night causing fatalities and desctructing homes and public facilities #prayforsentani#PrayForJayapurapic.twitter.com/eBV6BDtvM1
— Ninik Suhartini (@nsuhartini1) March 17, 2019
While the water levels have since receded, the authorities are still assessing the damage.
Kondisi terkini di Kabupaten Jayapura setelah semalam diterjang luapan air yang luar biasa menakutkan 😥😢 #PrayForJayapurapic.twitter.com/4FaNZ7GNt5
— PERSIPURA (@PERSIPURA_) March 16, 2019
Innalillahi stay safe everyone 😭❤ #PrayForJayapurapic.twitter.com/H8lB8Qflo8
— Zahraana (@Zahraana17) March 17, 2019
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