REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Floods and landslides that hit South Sulawesi Province, last week, affected 201 villages in 78 sub-districts and 13 districts/municipality. The death toll rose to 69, while seven people remained missing, 48 were injured, and 9,429 others were displaced, according to data of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), here, Tuesday.

The 13 flood-affected districts comprised Jeneponto, Maros, Gowa, Makassar Municipality, Wajo, Barru, Pangkep, Sidrap, Bantaeng, Takalar, Selayar, and Sinjai. The natural disasters damaged 65 schools and 559 homes, including 33 swept away and five buried in landslides.

The floods submerged a total of 22,156 homes, 15.8 kilometers of roads, 13,808 hectares of rice fields, 34 bridges, two markets, 12 places of worship, and eight government offices.

Spokesman of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho noted in a statement that the conservation areas in South Sulawesi must be restored to help improve their functions to assist in mitigating natural disasters. Trees having economic and ecological values should be planted in the river bank areas, he remarked.

Corn and vegetable plants should be replaced with cacao, coffee, and cashew trees that have economic values and can hold soil during floods and landslides, he stated. Efforts to restore conservation areas in the province could be made in coordination with other relevant ministries and institutions, he added.

"The BNPB will help accelerate efforts to restore the conservation areas by planting trees or seedlings," he stated.

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