Cyclone Seroja wreaks havoc in Indonesia, death toll rises to 177

At least 177 people have died and 45 people are still missing in flash floods and landslides caused by Tropical Cyclone Seroja in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. Several villages in the region have been cut off due to rock slides. Cyclone Seroja on April 5 made landfall and brought torrential rain and cold lava floods in East Indonesia.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja causes deaths

The villages in the region are still cut off including those in the Kupang district. The authorities will deploy helicopters and ferries to distribute food and other essentials to the people living in these areas, news agency ANI quoted the province's Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi as saying in a virtual press conference jointly held with the National Disaster Management Agency. The deaths reported in the districts of East Flores stands at 72.

The villages are still isolated including those in the Kupang district. Tomorrow we will deploy helicopters and ferries to distribute aid to these areas.

The death toll in the region Lembata reaches 47 and the deaths reported in Alor are at 28. Six persons have lost their lives in the provincial capital Kupang. The evacuated people from the affected areas have started living in rented houses to prevent the spread of COVID-19, reported ANI quoting SOI. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has said extreme weather conditions such as heavy rains, strong winds and high sea waves occurred after Seroja.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja has produced high waves, strong winds and heavy rain that has affected thousands of homes and has caused damages in the region. Rescue efforts were being hampered by the rains and the remote areas, where roads and bridges were damaged in many places. According to Indonesia's meteorolical and climate agency BMKG, Seroja is the strongest tropical cyclone to have hit Indonesia since 2008. Australian weather forecasters have warned residents in Western Australia that tropical cyclone Seroja was moving towards them. 

(Inputs From ANI)

(Image Credits: AP)