Eight Missing After Flash Floods Hit West Sumatra In Indonesia

[News_Editor]

Eight missing after flash floods hit West Sumatra in Indonesia < br />

2012-07-26 08:39:27 GMT+7 (ICT)

PADANG, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Severe flash floods struck the capital of West Sumatra in Indonesia on Tuesday, leaving at least eight people missing and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, officials said on Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall caused the Lubuk Linggau and Batang Kuranji rivers to overflow on Tuesday, triggering flash floods in at least five sub-districts of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province which lies on the west coast of Sumatra. Hundreds of homes were inundated by the flooding.

Local news reports said hundreds of families have been forced to flee the region because of the flooding, which has also isolated the village of Batu Busuk after a bridge collapsed. Authorities have said at least eight people have been reported missing, and there is little hope of finding survivors.

Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar spoke with local media on Wednesday and blamed illegal logging for the flash floods, according to the Antara news agency. He also underlined that the local administration has not issued any logging licenses in the area, which has a number of protected forests.

Bahar pointed out that, while no new licenses for logging have been issued, more than 20 percent of the 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares) of protected forest have already been cut down.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-07-26

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