Material losses could not as yet be estimated as the data collection process is still going on
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Flooding caused by torrential rains submerged six villages in Seluma District, Bengkulu Province, on Tuesday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

The floods hit the six villages on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. local time, submerging some 150 houses there, Chief of the BNPB Center for Disaster Data, Information Communication Agus Wibowo noted in a press statement released early Wednesday.

Tanjung Agung, Pagar Agung, Talang Tinggi, Lubuk, Talang Dantuk, and Lubuk Lahan were inundated by the flooding, he stated.

Wibowo remarked that the floods inundated 13 houses in Tanjung Agung, 40 houses in Pagar Agung, 45 houses in Talang Tinggi, 35 houses in Lubuk, 11 houses in Talang Dantuk, and five houses in Lubuk Lahan.

The agency reported that the flooding also severed land communication connecting the provincial capital city Bengkulu to Manna.

The BNPB Office in Seluma District confirmed a report of a married couple being swept away by the water current but they could be rescued.

"Material losses could not as yet be estimated since the data collection process is yet ongoing," he stated.

A joint team of the BNPB Office and Police in Seluma District, assisted by local residents, evacuated the affected people to safer grounds.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecast that Seluma District can still potentially continue to receive heavy rains, with temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, humidity rate of 95 percent, and wind speed of 10 kilometers per hour in the northeastern direction.

"We call on the public to brace for any eventuality that may have the potential to snowball into a disaster," he added.

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Translator: Dewanto Samodro/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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