"Based on existing data, 408 residents were displaced by floods in the sub-districts of Tempurejo and Ambulu," Heru Widagdo, head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of the Jember Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), stated here on Friday.
The floods-affected four villages are Wonoasri, Sidodadi, and Curahnongko in Tempurejo Sub-district as well as Andongrejo Village in Ambulu Sub-district.
The floods submerged a total of 1,444 homes, eight schools, and 42 hectares of agricultural land.
The flooding was triggered by incessant heavy rains that caused Gladak Puting River to overflow its bank and four embankments in the river to break.
"Floodwaters reaching heights of between 60 centimeters and two meters inundated the residents' settlements. Hence, officers evacuated residents whose houses were submerged in waters of up to one meter and above in height," he stated.
The floodwaters began receding, but local villagers were urged to remain vigilant, as more rains were expected to fall in the ongoing rainy season.
Earlier, floods spread to wider areas in Jember's seven sub-districts of Bangsalsari, Tanggul, Gumukmas, Puger, Ambulu, Tempurejo, and Jenggawah, submerging thousands of residents' houses.
