Wasior, W Papua (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono arrived at the Kuri Pasai pier of Wasior town in West Papua on Thursday morning to meet flood victims.

The head of state and his entourage boarded Indonesian war ship KRI Hassanudin to cross waters from Manokwari to Wasior. After a ten-hour journey, they arrived in Wasior at around 5 am local time.

In Wasior, the president and the first lady were scheduled to visit two flood-affected locations. The visits would start at 8.20 am and end at 10 am local time.He and his entourage would later return to Manokwari, West Papua Province`s capital, by KRI Hassanudin and KRI Teluk Kalakay. The Wasior-Manokwari trip would take around eight hours.

Upon his arrival in Manokwari at about 6.40 pm, they would spend a night at the Swiss-Bel hotel.

President Yudhoyono had arrived from Jakarta in Manokwari on Wednesday afternoon (Oct 13) enroute to Wasior to meet the lood victims.

The Wasior flash flood, which struck on Sunday and Monday (Oct. 3 and 4), had reportedly killed at least 124 people, and left 123 others still missing.

Wasior was covered with mud, logs and rocks following the flood. The town badly needs heavy equipment for evacuation and cleaning operations.

The emergency response was originally scheduled for only ten days from October 8-18, 2010 but based on the president`s instruction, it will be extended until the end of this month.

Earlier, on Wednesday in a dialog with Wasior flood refugees sheltered at the Manokwari Military District Command Headquarters, the president said the government was committed to reconstructing the flood-devastated Wasior area.

He said the reconstruction would be done in cooperation with the regional government and the National Defense Forces (TNI).

It was earlier reported that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had accommodated at least 4,771 flood refugees in Manokwari while 2,554 had found temporary shelters on their own or moved in with relatives.(*)