Jakarta, The death toll in flooding and landslides that hit certain areas of South Sulawesi Province has reached 59, while search and evacuation of survivors continue, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Friday.
The dead victims were found in Pattallikang Village, Manuju Sub-district, and Sapaya Village, Bungaya Sub-district.
The search and rescue mission was aimed at finding the missing victims, but at the same time humanitarian aid was also distributed to the disaster survivors.
In the meantime, the Social Affairs Ministry has set up eight public kitchens to serve several thousand displaced people in the disaster zones of Makassar, Gowa, Takalar, Jeneponto, and Maros Districts, South Sulawesi Province.
“The public kitchens are managed by volunteers of the emergency response unit Tagana. Each of the kitchens produces three thousand plates of food a day,” antara news quoted ministry`s Director General of Social Protection and Security Harry Hikmat as saying.
Hence, the Tagana volunteers were responsible for producing 24 thousand plates of food to be then distributed to those taking refuge due to the flooding and landslides that hit certain areas in five districts of South Sulawesi Province, he remarked.
According to Social Affairs Minister Gumiwang Kartasasmita, the ministry also distributed several other goods, including 200 blankets and 100 packs of clothes. The total amount of the ministry`s first phase of humanitarian aid reached Rp874,517,200.
The ministry has also dispatched 450 Tagana personnel to the disaster zones to assist in the humanitarian mission.