15 Jul 2015

Freak hailstorm in Papua reportedly kills 11

8:17 pm on 15 July 2015

Reports from Indonesia's Papua province say 11 people have died in a freak hailstorm.

Tempo reports the storm hit Wano Barat, in Lanny Jaya, earlier this month, and the regional secretary, Christian Siholait, only confirmed the deaths yesterday.

The news service says people died from the cold, with temperatures plummeting to minus 2 degrees during the storm.

He says the blizzard devastated plantations and farm animals, and left many people suffering from diarrhoea.

Mr Siholait says there are 26 villages in three districts that are cut off and in need of immediate aid.

He added that he plans to send three teams to distribute food, medicine, and supplies to the districts, which will involve renting a plane.