Floods claim more lives in West Timor as airlifts continue
23 May -- As the United Nations and other organizations stepped up their efforts to access affected areas, the death toll from the floods in West Timor continued to rise, reaching 126 confirmed fatalities today, according to the UN mission in East Timor.
The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) reported that 43 of the 126 deaths occurred in the village of Uma Katahan in Belu District. In another village, some 4,000 residents have been relocated to higher ground to escape the floodwaters.
The airlift of supplies by UNTAET and the Government of Indonesia is continuing, with the provision of 17.7 tonnes of supplies to the affected areas today alone, the UN mission said. The last 21 deliveries brought the total amount of supplies airlifted into the area to 85 tonnes since the flooding began.
Repatriation of East Timorese in West Timor refugee camps has also stepped up. More than 600 East Timorese from the Betun area and 180 from Atambua applied today to return to East Timor.
Meanwhile, within East Timor, damage assessments have revealed that Carabaulo, Beobe and parts of the town of Viqueque are the hardest hit. In Viqueque, an estimated 31 families were directly affected. Rice paddies have also been destroyed and animals washed away, UNTAET said, adding that current road conditions continued to make any delivery of shelter material to the area impossible.
Engineers from the UN mission's peacekeeping force will undertake repairs on a bridge that collapsed about four kilometres north of Viqueque when the storms began on 12 May. Shelter kits will also be delivered by barge to Beacu beach, 40 kilometres from Viqueque.
