ANTARA 13 Dec 18;
Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - Floods that have been inundating certain parts of Riau Province in Sumatra Island over the past two months have claimed the lives of six people, with majority of the victims being children, the local search and rescue agency said.
The Pekanbaru National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) reported here that two of the six victims were found dead on Thursday. They were residents of Kampar District, who went missing for three days.
Walid (27) drowned in the overflowing Kampar River in Simpang Tibun Village, Kampar Subdistrict, and Mukhlis alias Ilik was found dead in Kuok Village, Bangkinang Barat Subdistrict.
According to the Basarnas spokesman, Kukuh Widodo, another victim, identified as Gilang (14), drowned in a creek of Payung Sekaki Subdistrict, Pekanbaru city.
The Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) noted that the flood waters have caused six people, mostly children, to get drowned. On Dec 10, a child named Zasiah Sapana (4) drowned in Ranah Bukit Village, Kampar District.
The local disaster mitigation agency reported that flood waters still inundate six districts/cities in Riau Province -- Pekanbaru city and the districts of Kampar, Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir, Rokan Hulu, and Pelalawan.
Therefore, the BPBD has imposed a flooding and landslide emergency status in early December.
Extreme weather has hit certain parts of Indonesia over the past two weeks. In the West Java city of Bogor, for instance, torrential rains and strong winds recently hit certain areas, causing many trees to fall down and killing a resident.
The whirlwind that hit the South Bogor Subdistrict areas, including Cipaku and Batutulis, on December 6, 2018, also damaged many houses and caused traffic jams.
The extreme weather also caused landslides and floods in other parts of Java Island.
In Pacitan, East Java, four members of a family in Sidomulyo Village, Kebonagung Sub-district, Pacitan District, East Java Province, were reportedly trapped under the rubble caused by a landslide that crushed their house on Dec 7, 2018.
Reporting by FB Anggoro
Editing by Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Bustanuddin
