25 Aug 2022

West Papua city hit by intense flooding

7:19 am on 25 August 2022

Floods struck Sorong City, West Papua following heavy rains early this week.

There are reports of 1.5 metre-high flooding and landslides with two people killed.

Photo: Facebook

Roads and thousands of houses in the city were inundated by floodwater.

The two people who died when their house was engulfed by the landslide were a 35-year-old mother and her eight-year-old son.

The father survived.

The city's disaster mitigation agency head, Herlin Sasabone, says emergency authorities are continuing to monitor the flood situation.

Herlin said the Sorong Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), in collaboration with the National Search and Rescue Agency, the Indonesian Military, and the National Police continued to monitor the flood situation in the city.

"People who need help and see their homes damaged by landslides can report to the Sorong BPBD office," Herlin said.