FLOODS, LANDSLIDES KILL TWO IN SOUTH SULAWESI

Makassar, South Sulawesi, Feb 2 (ANTARA) - Floods and landslides have hit several districts and cities in South Sulawesi Province, following incessant heavy rains over the past several days.
Floods submerged residential areas, farm land, fish ponds, and cacao plantations in several regions.

In Malino, Gowa District, a landslide killed one person and in Takalar District a flood claimed another life on Sunday.
The South Sulawesi administration had anticipated the disasters and prepared relief aid for victims, Mappagio, head of the local provincial social and people's protection office, said here on Monday.
Among the worst flood-affected regions were Makassar, Gowa, Maros, Takalar, Pangkep, Jeneponto, and North Luwu.
In North Luwu, a number of houses and hundreds of hectares of cacao plantations were flooded.
Some 200 families were forced to flee to higher ground in Makassar due to floods.
Floods have inundated at least 100 houses and hectares of paddy fields in Gowa since a week ago.
The current rainy season has been marked by floods and landslides in various parts of Indonesia, including in East Java, Central Java, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Java, and Aceh provinces.
La Nina, which is developing into Northern Hemisphere Spring 2009, is expected to cause above-average precipitation over Indonesia, during January-March 2009 according to the US NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) recently.