Floods inundate thousands of homes in the Riaus

Rizal Harahap and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post 18 Nov 09;

Floods caused by high rainfall have engulfed a large part of Rokan Hulu regency, Riau province, as a number of rivers burst their banks, swamping thousands of homes.

A resident of the regency capital Pasir Pengarayan Junianto said floods as high as an adult's waist and incessant rain in a number of areas had disrupted the daily activities of thousands of residents.

"In several villages on the outskirts of Pasir Pengarayan, residents preferred to stay in their homes, some catching fish around their platform houses to supplement their meals," he told The Jakarta Post by phone Tuesday.

The floods have also cut off the Trans-Sumatra highway passing through Pasir Pengarayan, with floods up to 50 cm high in several places. Junianto said only large vehicles, such as trucks and buses, could travel along the highway, a one kilometer stretch of which was completely underwater.

Based on data from the disaster response command post in Rokan Hulu, the floods had inundated 3,153 homes occupied by 4,326 families in nine districts. Bonai Darussalam, where 1,700 families were displaced, was the worst-affected district.

The Rokan Hulu Social Office has distributed relief aid, in the form of instant noodles, cooking oil, rice, canned sardines and other daily necessities, to a number of villages hit by floods through neighborhood units.

The local administration also planned to erect makeshift tents and evacuate residents from flood-prone areas to prevent casualties.

Office head Joeni Syafri said the volume of aid had been provided in accordance with official requests made by local district and village administrative chiefs.

"Distribution of aid is not yet equitable. Many flood survivors have not received aid due to the lack of formal requests from their district and village chiefs. The formal requests are important because the district and village chiefs are the ones who are most aware of the number of survivors that need help," said Joeni.

Joeni said only 988 affected families in 11 villages had received assistance so far.

Meanwhile, residents of Cibangkong village, Pekuncen district, Banyumas regency, Central Java, have demanded the authorities relocate them to safer areas because they are living in a landslide-prone area. Deep fissures have appeared in the ground throughout the village and many houses have developed cracks in their walls.

"We are afraid heavy rain could trigger landslides during the rainy season," said Cibangkong villager Kartono on Monday, adding that shifting ground in nearby Gandusari village had caused homes to be damaged by cracks.

Another villager, Tarsiyah, 38, said she could not sleep when it rained at night.

"I'm afraid that my home will be damaged by a landslide, because landslides happen regularly," Tarsiyah told The Post on Monday.

Kartono calculates that 80 percent of homes in the village, inhabited by around 2,000 people, are at risk of landslide. A member of the Banyumas disaster response unit, Djunaedi, said the local administration was still considering whether to relocate residents from Cibangkong village.

"The cost is too high. And we would have to find suitable land in accordance with their requirements. It wouldn't be easy," Djunaedi said.

He said his office was still conducting anticipatory measures by working together with local residents to monitor the situation carefully.

According to him, based on a study by the Bandung-based Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center, the area is still inhabitable.