Indonesia: Riau flood spreads, up to 2,000 houses inundated

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 15 Nov 16;

Flooding in Rokan Hulu regency in Riau province has spread to other areas and inundated almost 2,000 houses in five districts on Tuesday.

Rokan Hulu Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) data show that the hardest hit is Rambah district, where eight villages have been were inundated by water overflowing from the Batang Lubuh River. The BPBD said 978 families comprising 3,396 people were affected in the district.

Rambah Samo district has 350 families or 1,082 people affected by the flood in five villages.

Water overflowing from the Aliantan River hit Kabun district has inundated the homes of 270 families comprising 340 people in Aliantan and Batu Langkah villages.


Floodwater hits Rokan Hulu regency in Riau on Nov. 15. The police and the military are helping people cope with the disaster.(Courtesy of BPBD Rokan Hulu/File)

Rokan Hulu BPBD head Aceng Herdiana said the administration had erected shelters and communal kitchens and distributed ready-to-eat food to flood victims.

Assisted by the Indonesian Military and the National Police, Rokan Hulu BPBD evacuated people from the villages and helped them salvage valuable belongings, such as electronic equipment. (evi)


Thousands of houses in W. Java flooded
Jakarta Post 15 Nov 16;

Water from overflowing rivers has flooded thousands of houses in the West Java municipalities of Tangerang, Bekasi and Karawang following heavy rain.

“In Karawang, the flood was caused by water from the Citarum river and its tributaries, while in Tangerang it was caused by the Angke river overflowing,” Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said Monday, as quoted by news agency Antara.

He added that flooding in Karawang had intensified from Friday to Monday. In Telukbuyung village of Karawang regency, 678 houses, two mosques, two schools and seven prayer houses had been inundated, he said, while at the Bintang Alam housing complex, 650 houses had been flooded, affecting 997 people.

On Monday, five districts near the Citarum river in Bekasi regency were also flooded, Antara reported.

On Sunday in Tangerang, thousands of houses were flooded by the overflowing Angke river. Local authorities reported seven affected locations in Tangerang: Larangan Utara, Ciledug Indah, Karang Tengah, Flyover Cibodas, Alam Jaya, Periuk Jaya and the Total Persada housing complex. (evi)