Flash floods, mudslides kill at least 58 in Indonesia's Papua

Aljazeera 

Torrential rains submerge hundreds of houses in neck-high water and mud in Indonesia's easternmost province.

The dead included three children who drowned after the floods began late on Saturday [BASARNAS via AP]

Flash floods and mudslides triggered by days of torrential rains tore through mountainside villages in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province, killing at least 58 people, wounding scores and forcing more than 4,000 from their homes.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster agency, told reporters on Sunday that 51 people were killed in the town of Sentani, where 74 others were injured.

Heavy rain caused landslides in the nearby provincial capital of Jayapura, killing seven people there, Nugroho added, noting that number of dead and injured may increase since many affected areas had not been reached.

The dead included three children who drowned after the floods began late on Saturday.

"We are overwhelmed by too many injuries," said Haerul Lee, the head of Jayapura health office, adding that some medical facilities had been hit by power outages. "We can't handle it alone.”………...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/flash-floods-mudslides-kill-50-indonesia-papua-190317062526426.html

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