The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 3:58 PM | Archipelago A | A | A |
Floods have forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents of Waibalun in Larantuka, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara.
No casualties were reported, but several houses were inundated by floods from the slopes of nearby Mount Mandiri, following rains and storms over the past two weeks, East Nusa Tenggara Social Affairs Agency chief Piter Manuk said Monday in Kupang as reported by Antara.
"Until midnight, 150 families, or 737 people, had evacuated, but this morning the numbers had reached more than 1,000," Piter said, adding that the number of evacuees would likely continue to increase because the rains had not stopped.
Piter said this was the first time large-scale floods have engulfed the area. Every year, Larantuka residents were affected by floods but they had never been this big before, he said.