"This is very important to accelerate the restoration of (normalcy in) the lives of people in several areas currently affected by the floods," she informed journalists in response to the East Java provincial government`s efforts to deal with the flood disaster.
The related authorities within the provincial government should directly get engaged in the mitigation efforts to accelerate the restoration of the affected people`s lives and to meet their demand for basic necessities, Parawansa noted.
They should be able to coordinate with the district and city governments, whose areas are affected by the floods.
Those from the provincial government`s public works and road construction and maintenance office and the East Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), for instance, are responsible for the areas of Pacitan, Madiun, Magetan, and Ngawi Districts.
Meanwhile, the disaster zones in Trenggalek and Nganjuk Districts were handled by those from the provincial government`s public works and natural resources office as well as energy and mineral resources office, she revealed.
Due to heavy rainfall, floods have reportedly inundated 15 districts around East Java Province. In Madiun District, the East Java BPBD was quoted by a local newspaper as reporting that eight sub-districts and 39 villages got affected.
The Caruban-Madiun toll road section, spanning from KM 603+600 to KM 604+000, had also been disrupted by the floodwaters for 24 hours this week.
Following the receding of floodwaters submerging the toll road section, its operator has allowed entry to vehicles from Jakarta since early Friday.
"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the floodwaters have receded, so we have reopened the toll road section since early Friday at 2:30 a.m. local time," Area Manager of PT Jasa Marga Ngawi-Kertosono (JNK) Sabilillah remarked on Friday.
During the temporary closure of the toll road section, the operator applied a contraflow system and diverted the direction of traffic to ensure no disruption in vehicular flow to and from the East Java city of Madiun.
As revealed on the operator`s website, in order to ensure the drivers` safety, the operator will continue to monitor the height of floodwaters still inundating certain areas near the toll road and keep sandbags and water pumps on standby to curb future flooding.
Reporting by Fiqih Arfani, Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
