"This type of disaster has been repeatedly occurring over a period of time, so the residents must be relocated,"Jayapura (ANTARA) - The local government in Papua had been planning to relocate residents who live in the Cycloop nature reserve area in a bid to avoid future flash floods.
Papua's Governor, Lukas Enembe, stated that the residents would be moved to Wamena, Jayapura.
"This plan had been approved by President Joko Widodo; we just have to determine the proper location," he said in Jayapura on Thursday.
According to the Governor, Papua's government will discuss building public service facilities for the resettled residents, such as hospitals, schools, and housing.
"This type of disaster has been repeatedly occurring over a period of time, so the residents must be relocated," he added.
Meanwhile, Papua's Vice Governor Klemen Tinal stated that his team has asked residents not to undertake any activities in the Cycloop nature reserve area.
"This flash flood needs to be taken seriously, so they should be aware of the consequences," Tinal said.
The latest data from the Papua Province reveals the flash flood victims include 101 casualties, 93 missing, 808 with mild injuries and 107 heavily injured.
All these victims are from three districts in Papua, namely Sentani, Waibu, and West Sentani.
The deforestation of Cycloop forest was said to be one of the causes of the disaster that occurred on Saturday night, March 16.
Translator: Azizah Fitriyanti, Safira Hali
Editor: Suharto
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