Head of the South Sulawesi Social Affairs Office, Abdul Malik Faisal, stated in Makassar on Thursday that the rice aid was donated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and several state-run enterprises, such as BNI and Pupuk Indonesia.
"Thank God, earlier on Thursday morning, we received 40 tons of rice aid from the Social Affairs Ministry and state-owned enterprises," he remarked.
Faisal revealed that the rice aid is currently being stored at two different locations prior to distribution.
"As much as 30 tons of rice have been dropped at the post. Meanwhile, the rest of the aid is being stored at Bua Airport and will be transported using army helicopters to Latimojong Sub-district (Luwu District), which is currently inaccessible via roads," he stated.
Related news: South Sulawesi receives Rp2.5 billion from BNPB for disaster handling
Following the collapse of three bridges, he noted, a total of 16 villages in Latimojong Sub-district are rendered inaccessible by road.
The official remarked that the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), National Police (Polri), and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) are planning to deploy helicopters to execute the distribution of aid to thousands of residents in the 16 isolated villages.
"God Willing, the aid will be distributed post haste. We have been in coordination to immediately deliver the assistance, including those donated by other parties, to other affected regions," he remarked.
During a press conference earlier on Wednesday (May 8), Faisal revealed that a total of 70 state and private institutions had contributed to the provision of disaster relief aid in South Sulawesi.
Related news: BNPB considers weather modification to handle floods in South Sulawesi
Translator: Abdul K, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
