Indonesia: 900 hectares of rice fields flooded in Penajam, E Kalimantan

Antara 18 Jun 19;

Penajam, East Kalimantan (ANTARA) - At least 900 hectares of rice fields were inundated in Babulu Sub-district, Penajam Paser Utara District, East Kalimantan Province.

Of the 900 hectares, 600 hectares were located in Sebakung Village and 300 hectares in Sri Rahrja, Bambang Marjuki, an official of the Penajam Paser Utara agriculture office, said here on Tuesday.

The condition of paddy plants were not very bad, so local farmers still could harvest it, he said.

The paddy would have been spoiled if the rice fields were flooded for too long, and if the farmers did not harvest it immediately, he said.

In the meantime, flooding in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, earlier, had extended to a broader area and affected 9,358 families constituting 30,580 people, rising from 20 thousand people the day before, in North Samarinda, Sungai Pinang, and Samarinda Ulu sub-districts.

Sungai Pinang bore the maximum brunt, with the natural disaster impacting 23,261 residents, Hendra AH, secretary of the Samarinda disaster mitigation office, remarked in Samarinda on June 12, 2019.

In North Samarinda, flooding affected 13,794 people, including 828 families comprising 2,534 people in the Sempaja Timur urban village and 2,511 residents of Sempaja Utara. Floodwaters reached heights of nearly 100 centimeters (cm) in the Bumi Sempaja residential complex.

In the Griya Mukti housing complex located in the Gunung Lingai urban village, floodwaters rose to heights of 80 to 170 cm, impacting 1,390 households of 4,764 people.

In the Samarinda Ulu Sub-district, 328 families comprising 1,201 people, mostly of Sidodadi Urban Village, are reeling under the impact of the flooding.

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has disbursed logistics aid to the victims of flooding that had hit Samarinda over the past six days.

Recently, flooding ravaged several Indonesian provinces, including East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and South Kalimantan.

Flooding in Morowali District in Central Sulawesi over the past 72 hours has destroyed four bridges and caused extensive damage to over 10 homes.

A total of 1,437 residents of Dampala Village and 800 residents of Leelee Village were affected by the flooding.

Reporter: Novi Abdi, Fardah
Editor: Eliswan Azly