Indonesian residents hunt for food, water after floods

Medan: Some residents of the flood-hit Indonesian island of Sumatra have resorted to stealing food and water to survive, authorities said on Sunday, while Sri Lankan officials said deaths from floods and mudslides in that island nation have risen to 193.

The floods, which hit Indonesia nearly a week ago, have killed 442 people — with the number expected to rise as more bodies are recovered — and displaced 290,700 people. The deluges triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut off parts of the island, and downed communication lines.

Another 402 people are missing in Indonesia’s three provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

The challenging weather conditions and the lack of heavy equipment also hampered rescue efforts. Aid has been slow to reach the hardest-hit city of Sibolga and the Central Tapanuli district in North Sumatra. Videos on social media showed people scrambling past crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and gas. Some waded through waist-deep floodwaters to reach damaged convenience stores.

The spokesperson for the police, Ferry Walintukan, said they received reports of people breaking into shops on Saturday evening, and that regional police had been deployed to restore order.

“The looting happened before logistical aid arrived,” Walintukan said. “(Residents) didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve.” Eleven helicopters were deployed from Jakarta to the affected areas the day after the disaster for ongoing logistics distribution operations, especially to areas where land access was cut off, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said on Sunday, “but unpredictable weather often hampers aid operations.”