thejakartapost.com, Jakarta Post 25 Nov 15;
More than 7,000 people from 12 sub-districts in West Aceh, Aceh province, have been evacuated from flooded areas after heavy rains poured starting Tuesday morning.
Joni Nuriyanto, head of Aceh’s Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) said on Wednesday that the intensified rain had caused rivers to overflow and inundate the West Aceh area.
The floods caused damages to several public facilities and to houses in some rural districts.
There were a total of 7,103 people evacuated, he said.
One house was destroyed after drifting away in Mereubo district; two houses fell into a river in Woyla district; and one community health center fell to a river in Arongan Lambalek district. Also, some parts of bridges collapsed in Kaway XVI and Pante Cereumen district.
"The floods affected every district in West Aceh with water levels from 50 centimeters to 1.5 meters," Joni said as quoted by Antara news agency.
Aceh BPBD is cooperating with the West Aceh Manpower and Transmigration Office to focus on logistic distribution in areas inundated by floodwaters.
Joni said the worst affected area was West Woyla district, which was cut off from the rest of the district by the floods covering roads with up to 80cm of water.
The BPBD also warned people to be more careful and prepared for more floods as the agency received information about potential rain and thunder on Wednesday morning.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that rain will start pouring across the country this month and peak in January. (rin)(+)
Floods force over 7,000 West Aceh residents to seek refuge
Antara 25 Nov 15;
Meulaboh, Aceh (ANTARA News)- Floods have hit 12 sub-districts in West Aceh District, Aceh Darusalam Province, forcing over seven thousand people to evacuate to safer places since Tuesday following incessant heavy rains.
The floods were triggered by heavy rains and the overflowing of rivers in the district, Joni Nuriyanto, the head of the West Aceh disaster mitigation office, stated here, Wednesday.
The floods have damaged houses and public facilities in the affected sub-districts, he added.
A house was destroyed in Mereubo sub-district, two were swept away in Woyla sub-district, and a community health post in Arongan sub-district was seriously damaged by the floods.
Several bridges, including the Krueng Beukah Bridge, collapsed due to the floods reaching heights between 50 centimeters and 1.5 meters.
West Woyla sub-district was isolated as it was surrounded by waters reaching a height of up to 80 centimeters.
Indonesia is currently experiencing the rainy season, which has already triggered floods in some regions, including in Jakarta and Binjai in North Sumatra Province.
In Jakarta, floodwaters, reaching a height of up to four meters, inundated the Kampung Pulo area.
Over 1.5 thousand houses in the three sub-districts of Binjai District were flooded following incessant heavy rains.(*)
Floods inundate 1,500 houses in Binjai, North Sumatra
Antara 25 Nov 15;
Binjai, N Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Floods, reaching heights of up to two meters, inundated some 1.5 thousand houses in the South and East Binjai sub-districts of Binjai City .
Several flood victims were evacuated to higher ground, Yusrizal, the head of the Binjai disaster mitigation office, remarked here, Wednesday.
The military and police personnel have helped to evacuate the flood victims.
Two houses were swept away by the floods. The Sei Mencirim village in East Binjai and Setia village in Binjai City were among the worst flood-hit areas.
Junaidi, a flood victim, appealed to the government to send relief aid, such as food and clothing, particularly for infants and children, as most of the flood victims did not have the opportunity to save their belongings when the flash floods struck their homes.(*)
