Hundreds of houses in five sub-districts of Cianjur District, West Java, got submerged due to an overflowing river, secretary of the Cianjur District Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Rudi Wibowo stated on Tuesday.
No casualties were reported, but dozens of families were forced to evacuate, as their homes were inundated, Wibowo remarked.
According to the agency’s secretary, the floods occurred due to the overflowing of the river, which inundated the residential areas in Cilaku, Cibeber, Warungkondang, Cianjur, and Karang Tengah sub-districts.
“However, the worst case of flooding occurred in two sub-districts, Cilaku and Cibeber, and dozens of residents’ homes were submerged (in waters reaching) as high as an adult’s calves. As a result, 13 heads of households, comprising 28 people, were forced to evacuate,” he explained.
According to ANTARA’s observation, as of Tuesday afternoon, the fluvial floods that submerged several homes in the five sub-districts had begun to recede, and people had begun to clear the mud out of their houses.
In Cilaku Sub-district, displaced residents had returned home in the afternoon, though they were urged to return to the evacuation site in the evening.
According to Wibowo, heavy rains are feared to lash again and result in another incident of flooding.
Wibowo remarked that not only floods, as in Rancagoong Village, Cilaku, but a landslide also hit residential areas, damaging five houses and posing a threat to other buildings.
“We urge residents in the entire Cianjur area to remain vigilant and disaster-ready because the transition of the extreme weather season is unpredictable despite flood handling efforts being completed in three sub-districts, including (giving out) assistance from the government,” Wibowo remarked.
Secretary of the Cianjur Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Tatang Sumarna, said that his side had collected data on residents, who evacuated to their relatives’ homes that are safe from the flood.
Sumarna said his team has prepared the needed assistance and readied volunteers to help residents.
Source: Antara News