Bojonegoro, E Java (Antara) - Flood has inundated 58 villages in nine subdistricts of Bojonegoro District, East Java Province, following the overflowing Bengawan Solo River.
Head of Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Bojonegoro Andik Sudjarwo said here on Friday that the flood has also displaced around 1,000 residents to take shelter in several evacuation camps.
"If the water level of Bengawan Solo keeps rising, the number of evacuees will increase," Sudjarwo added.
Official data show that the flood has affected at least 4,604 families in the region. At least 1,057 residents had to leave their houses to take shelter in safe places.
Several villages such as Lebaksari, Kadungrejo, and Kalisari in Baureno Subdistrict have been inaccessible by water level reaching 0.5-1.5 meters high.
However, some residents of these villages prefer to remain in their houses than to take shelter in evacuation camps.
The authorities have established some evacuation camps such as in Ledokwetan Village of Kota District and in Ngulanan Village of Dander Subdistrict.
The evacuation posts are equipped with public kitchens and public health center for the evacuees.
The 58 villages affected by the flood are scattered in nine subdistricts, namely Kota, Trucuk, Baureno, Kanor, Sumberrejo, Balen, Kapas, Dander and Kalitidu.
Besides isolating the villages, the water from the longest river in Java Island has also inundated at least 3,826 hectares of rice field in the region.
Data from the Working Unit (UPT) of Bengawan Solo Water Resource Management in Bojonegoro showed that the water level of Bengawan Solo River reached 15.14 meters on Friday at 04:00 am local time.
Previously The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned the nation to anticipate floods and landslides during the peak rainy season forecast in January 2017.
Spokesman of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that climate anomaly had intensified hydro-meteorology-related disasters in 2016.
Since January 2016, the nation had been hit by 1,985 natural disasters that claimed 374 lives, injured 383 people and displaced 2.52 million others.
Landslides have caused the most damages, he added.
He said 315 districts with a population of 63.7 million across the country were prone to flooding.
Over the past 10 years, floods had affected 63.7 million people and killed 2.7 thousand others.(*)
