Antara 6 Jan 17;
Simpang Empat, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Floods and a landslide have struck the villages of Sunuruik and Talu in Talamau Sub-district, West Pasaman District, West Sumatra Province, over the last two days.
More than 100 homes were inundated, and land transportation between West Pasaman and Pasaman Districts was cut off, Head of the West Pasaman Disaster Mitigation Office Try Wahluyo stated here, Friday.
Torrential rains over the last two days have caused the Batang Sinuruik River to overflow, he added.
A landslide struck Jorong Paraman in the same district, cutting off a main road in the village.
Meanwhile, thousands of residential houses in South Pesisir District, West Sumatra Province, on Thursday, were inundated due to incessant rains since Wednesday night.
The floodwaters had inundated thousands of houses in the sub-districts of Bayang, North Bayang, IV Jurai, and Batang Kapas in the district of South Pesisir, Head of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency of South Pesisir Prinurdin stated here on Thursday.
In addition to West Sumatra, other provinces that were affected by flooding included West Nusa Tenggara and Aceh.
Based on data provided by West Nusa Tenggaras Regional Disaster Management Agency, thousands of houses in five districts in Bima City were inundated, with water levels ranging between one and three meters. A total of 105,758 inhabitants in the city were affected by the flash floods.
The value of losses incurred due to the floods was estimated to reach hundreds of billions of rupiah owing to damage to roads, bridges, telecommunication and electricity networks, public facilities, as well as local business activities.
Indonesia will likely experience more such intense weather events in January 2017 due to a strong La Ni�a phenomenon, known for causing torrential downpours and widespread flooding across the state, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has forecast.
The BNPB has cautioned the people to remain vigilant against hydro-meteorological disasters during the January-April and November-December 2017 period.
"Drought that could induce forest and plantation fires might occur from June to October. Moreover, there might be earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions," Sutopo stated while releasing the agencys forecast of natural disasters in 2017.(*)
