Gorontalo Flash Floods Affect Thousands of Lives

Author: Dian Kencana
July 12, 2024

A rescue team vehicle evacuates flood victims in Gorontalo City, Gorontalo, on July 11th, 2024 (ANTARA/Adiwinata Solihin)

SEAToday.com, Gorontalo – Flash floods have hit several areas in Gorontalo since this Wednesday (10/7/2024), which includes Kota Selatan, Kota Tengah, Dungingi, Kota Barat, Dumbo Raya, and Kota Timur.

The two-week back-to-back flood, starting from Thursday (06/27/2024), has cumulatively impacted up to 12,487 residents or 1,669 families, with their houses filled with a huge body of water.

“The flood that happened on Wednesday (07/10/2024) has widened,” quoted from ANTARA, Thursday (07/11/2024).

Even worse, this has temporarily disabled 80 per cent of the local economic activities. It has also destroyed various shops and public sectors, forcing them to close and evacuate their valuables.

Moreover, the local transportation system has been paralyzed because the water fills the roads until the height of a human’s chest, above the threshold of human knees.

So far, no casualties have been reported due to the flood.

Adding to the flood, Gorontalo had another consecutive landslide on Tuesday (07/06/2024) due to the heavy rain, which has affected 131 people, including 23 confirmed dead, 35 missing, and 73 alive with sustained injuries as of Thursday (07/11/2024).

National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) Operational Director, Edy Prakoso, confirmed that the casualties are still subject to change, and the team continues to find and rescue missing people.

The torrential heavy rains on July 6 triggered huge floods and landslides, overflowing the local rivers (Bone River and Bolango River) and lake (Lake Limboto) to more than their normal water surface.

Several bridges connecting the access to landmines are temporarily inaccessible due to collapse. (PATRICIA FEBI/DKD)