Panca Nugraha The Jakarta Post 25 Jul 18;
Tidal waves hit Induk Beach at Taman Ayu village in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday morning, forcing hundreds to flee following tidal floods that had inundated their village.
Seawater started to enter residential areas in the village at 8:35 a.m on Wednesday, causing knee-deep flooding, said Mataram Search and Rescue Agency spokesman I Lanang Wiswananda said.
“To anticipate worsening conditions, we immediately evacuated villagers [from the area],” he said, adding that the floods had affected 178 residents.
The agency, along with other personnel and volunteers, helped in the evacuation.
Wiswananda explained that the flooding was caused by tidal waves up to 4 meters high hitting the coastal village.
It had been reported that one house was severely damaged, and three fishing boats could not yet dock because of high waves.
Village head Lalu Imran said the tidal waves had been hitting the village since 4:30 a.m., followed by floodwater entering people’s houses from 7 a.m. Panicked residents then asked for help from the authorities to be evacuated to safer place. (nor/rin)
