FLOODS INUNDATE TOLITOLI AGAIN

Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi, Oct. 11 (ANTARA) - Tolitoli District was again inundated on Saturday afternoon as Sulawesi Trans Highway and farming areas were submerged under floodwaters.

The floods triggered by incessant heavy rains affected at least two sub districts, namely Baolan and Lampasio.

Downpours fell from about 1 pm local time to 4 pm, and it was still drizzling rain until Saturday evening.

In Baolan sub district, a number of roads such as Veteran, Sultan Hasanuddin, Usman Binol and Ladapi were flooded at a height of up to an adult's knee, while last Thursday the roads were inundated up to one meter high.

Floods submerged Pangi village, Dadakitan area, at the height of up to an adult's thigh.

Floods and landslides also affected Sulawesi Trans Highway for a few hours, causing a congestion on Saturday afternoon, but in the evening the floods subsided.

At Saladang Tinading villages, Lampasio sub districts, tens of hectares of agricultural areas were inundated. One-month-old paddy plants were swept away by the floods.

Baru, Panasakan and Baru areas were the worst affected by the floodwaters which reached a height of up to some a house's roof. The floods submerged hundreds of houses and forced more than one thousand people to flee to higher ground.

A number of schools were closed due to the inundation, and others, which were not affected by the flood, were used to accommodate refugees.

Last Thursday (Oct. 8), in Baolan sub district, three areas, namely Kilometer 1, Kilometer 2, and Sidoarjo Tanjung, were affected by floods and landslides. The landslides cut off the road which connected two neighboring districts, namely Buol and Gorontalo.

Floods in Tolitoli city submerged more than half of the city's houses and a number of roads. Floods triggered by incessant heavy rains on Thursday morning paralyzed public activities in Tolitoli District.