Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister, Basuki Hadimuljono, reviewed the efforts to handle flash floods that hit Sambong Village, Bumiaji Sub-district, Batu City, East Java, Thursday.
"As monitored by PUPR officials, 11 excavators and 13 dump trucks are operating since the first day of the incident. I think this is a prototype of a flash flood incident. This is not in a river but in a waterway," the minister pointed out.
Hadimuljono spoke of having received several reports regarding the causes of the flash floods that resulted in the deaths of seven residents and damage to dozens of houses in Batu.
The minister noted that in these waterways, materials, such as wood, rocks, and mud, were found that formed natural dams that obstructed the flow of water to the river.
Amid high-intensity rains, the natural dam was unable to withstand the existing water discharge. Thus, the natural dam caved in, and the water rushed downstream, carrying along with it wood, rocks, and mud, he added.
"Hence, the waterways got clogged with forest waste flowing from the upstream. This is because more water was flowing in, the dam broke, and the flash flood occurred," he stated.
The flash floods that hit the Batu City area on November 4 claimed the lives of seven people, who got dragged by the currents or were buried by the flood material. The other seven were found safe.
Moreover, based on data from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Batu City, 51 houses were damaged, while eight of them were swept away by the flash flood that struck at around 3 p.m. local time.
Moreover, 32 other houses got submerged in mud due to the flash floods. The disaster also affected as many as 124 families. Moreover, 46 two-wheeled vehicles and 11 four-wheeled vehicles were damaged due to the disaster. (*)
Editor : Abdullah Rifai
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