Trans-Sulawesi in North Konawe Hasn't Recovered from Floods, Residents' Burden Has Doubled

On each side of the road, hundreds of vehicles, both private vehicles, fuel tankers, and cargo transport, queue up for days waiting for low tide. Meanwhile, residents ride rafts to cross the rapidly flowing currents at several points. Residents of all ages, from elderly to children, join various vehicles and goods on the raft even in the pouring rain.

Acim (29), a rice transporter from Konawe to Morowali, revealed that he arrived since Friday morning. The long queue of vehicles, which is more than 500 meters, only allowed him to reach the emergency crossing spot in the afternoon.

"We unload the rice here because the truck cannot use the raft. There is another truck waiting on the other side. We have no choice but to work this way because we cannot force the road. Today, we brought 10 tons of rice," said Acim.

During the last week, Acim has come to this place twice to bring rice. This condition increases operational expenses. It takes up to Rp 1 million to rent a cargo raft. This also causes the price of rice to be raised from before. However, he is unsure of the exact price increase due to the impact of the flood over the past week.

Pracoyo (47), a driver of other cargo transportation, said that his operating costs have doubled from before. If the road conditions are normal, he spends Rp 1.2 million on the Kendari-Morowali trip. Currently, the round-trip cost reaches around Rp 2.5 million due to floods.

Not only the cost, but the travel time also increases. Vehicles have to wait in long queues to reach the flooded point. Arriving since Thursday afternoon, he could only cross on Friday noon.

Also read: Struck by floods, Trans-Sulawesi in North Konawe is paralyzed

The flood situation in this area looks strong and high. The rafts that are made and operated by residents take about 20 minutes to lift the vehicle to the other side.

A number of residents also complain about the high cost of crossing. For minibuses, it can reach up to Rp 800,000 per trip. Meanwhile, for one motorcycle it costs around Rp 100,000 and for residents, Rp 30,000 per person.

"A few days ago, it could even reach Rp 1 million to cross. Afterwards, there was a meeting and the maximum price agreed upon for a car was Rp 500,000. However, today is different, it's back to Rp 700,000," said Usrin (45), a resident of North Konawe. He had to spend double the budget to return to his home after attending his child's wedding in Bombana regency.

Therefore, he hopes that the government will regulate and pay full attention to this issue. Flooding causes suffering for the community and makes it difficult for them to carry out activities. Additionally, he wishes that floods will not continue to recur in this area.

The Sector Police Chief (Polsek) of Asera, Adjunct Commissioner I Kadek Agus Budiyanto, said that since the flood occurred, officers have been trying to assist and organize residents who want to cross. Drivers are expected not to force their way through as the floodwaters are high.

Also read: Disaster Time Bomb in North Konawe

During floods, he continued, the surrounding community then built rafts to assist with crossings. "We urge for the crossing fees not to be too high. Additionally, we advise patience and avoiding forcing oneself to cross if the current is too strong," he said.

The flood has submerged the North Konawe region for over a week now. Besides the Oheo area, five other districts are also affected. These districts are Andowia, Asera, Langgikima, Landawe, and Wiwirano. One area in Molawe was hit by a tornado.

According to data from the North Konawe Regional Disaster Management Agency, as of Thursday (9/5/2024), aside from the Trans-Sulawesi route, floods have also affected 983 people. Some of them have evacuated to their closest relatives' homes.

North Konawe Regent Ruksamin stated that the floods that occurred over the past week submerged residents' homes and made the Trans-Sulawesi access road still impassable. The national route was being worked on by the government after the major flood that occurred in 2019. However, the work was not completed and has yet to be continued.

"At the moment, we are striving to avoid any loss of life or property. Various efforts have been made beforehand. However, what has yet to be addressed is the retention pond for flood control. The second issue is sediment dredging. The slow water flow is due to sedimentation (in the river), even causing shallowing so that the water discharge quickly rises onto the road," said Ruksamin.

According to data from the North Konawe Regional Disaster Management Agency, as of Thursday (9/5/2024), aside from the Trans-Sulawesi route, floods have also affected 983 people. Some of them have evacuated to their closest relatives' homes.

Flash floods once inundated the North Konawe area in mid-2019. At that time, several districts in this area were hit by floods mixed with mud. The flash floods at that time swept through Tapuwatu Village and destroyed hundreds of residents' houses. This village is one of 50 villages/urban communities affected by floods in 2019.

The hills around this area are also a nickel mining center. The North Konawe region is indeed a nickel-rich area with the highest number of nickel mining permits in Sultra, even in Indonesia.

When contacted separately, the Director of Walhi Sultra, Andi Rahman, stated that the recurring floods despite low rainfall are signs of ecological damage in the North Konawe area. Massive land clearing for large-scale mining and plantations has greatly reduced the area's absorption capacity and caused sedimentation in rivers.

According to Andi, this condition has occurred due to the government's neglect of the situation. Floods are occurring faster than before. This is due to continuous environmental damage without significant improvement.