Floods keep thousands from homes in Indonesia, Malaysia
INDINESIA: Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians and Malaysians were
still in temporary shelters on Saturday after floods in recent weeks
forced them from their homes, but conditions were gradually improving,
officials said.
In Indonesia's Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, where floods and
landslides have killed at least 114 people, the displaced total was
nearly 272,000 people, Agus Sardiyarso, an official at the disaster
management coordination centre in Jakarta, told Reuters.
However, that was well down on the 400,000 reported earlier this
week. The flood situation in Malaysia's worst-hit southern state of
Johor was improving but more than 58,000 people were still in relief
camps, from 63,000 on Friday, and several key roads were under water,
Bernama news agency quoted relief officials as saying.
Malaysia's Meteorological Department, which had issued warnings of
fresh rains in the flood-hit regions, said on Saturday that heavy rain
was unlikely in the coming days.
"There will be only moderate rainfall over Johor and other regions,"
an official told Reuters. At least 11 people have been killed in the
Malaysian floods.
Malaysian palm oil prices rocketed to 8-year highs this week on fears
the floods could severely cut supplies.
The floods also raised concerns in Indonesia about flows of palm oil,
rubber and coffee to factories and ports. Traders said damaged roads and
bridges had hampered delivery.
But in Aceh, home to major offshore natural gas fields and onshore
processing plants, output and movement of natural gas were unaffected,
industry officials said.
Authorities blamed heavy rains and deforestation for the latest
destruction. Legal and illegal logging leaves ground less able to absorb
excess water as well as more prone to landslides. Deforestation destroys
the ecosystem and the battle against illegal logging should be
stepped-up, Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Saleh told Reuters on
Saturday.
Asked about a report in the London-based Financial Times that
Indonesia's environment minister wanted a moratorium on legal commercial
logging in the country, Saleh said if an investigation showed the main
cause of the flooding was really deforestation, then a moratorium should
be imposed..
Jakarta, Sunday, Reuters
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