The flood hit almost all districts and cities. I call on the rank and file of the district and city governments to act. The first thing to do is to rescue the affected people.
Bengkulu (ANTARA) - Incessant rains caused several rivers in Bengkulu province to overflow their banks on Friday night, flooding several parts of the province.

"The flood hit almost all districts and cities. I call on the rank and file of the district and city governments to act. The first thing to do is to rescue the affected people," Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah said here on Saturday.

The flood also caused landslides in several parts of the district, cutting off land communications among districts in Bengkulu and between the province and other provinces, including South Sumatra and Lampung.

All rescue workers have been deployed to help the evacuation of the affected residents and minimize the impact of floods and landslides, particularly on vital roads, he said.

He added that heavy-duty equipment from the Public Works and Housing Office has also been sent to landslide sites. However, since its number is limited, he called upon plantation and mining companies in Bengkulu province to send heavy equipment to the affected areas.

Chief of the Bengkulu Provincial Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) Rusdi Bakar said there was no immediate report of casualties caused by the flood and landslide.

"We have deployed our officers to all affected areas to assess the impact (of the natural disaster), and we have not received reports of casualties yet," Bakar said.

Translator: Helti Marini S, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019