Floodwaters begun entering residents' houses at midnight.Medan, N Sumatra (ANTARA) - Flooding caused by heavy rains swamped hundreds of houses in Binjai City, North Sumatra Province, on Wednesday, thereby compelling some residents to evacuate to higher ground.
The rains that began falling since early Wednesday caused the Bangkatan River flowing through the city to overflow its bank.
"Floodwaters began entering the residents' houses at midnight," Adjunct Commissioner Sandi, spokesman for the Search and Rescue (SAR) team of the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit of the North Sumatra Provincial Police, stated.
The floodwaters subsided before the river overflowed again at around 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Consequently, floodwaters, reaching heights of up to 1.5 meters, inundated several houses.
An exact count of the flooded houses is yet unknown. However, Sandi has pegged the figure to run into several hundred.
"The number of flooded houses is quite high. We have yet to record their figure since we are still focusing on helping residents trapped in the flood," he stated.
Flooding often occurs in several parts of Indonesia during the transition from dry to rainy season.
In mid-September, floods inundated thousands of houses in 18 villages in Melawi District of West Kalimantan Province following incessant, heavy rains over the past week.
Chief of the Melawi Resort Police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Tris Supriadi, stated recently that rising water levels at the Nanga Pinoh vegetable market had compelled vendors to move to higher ground and had severed access to the Nanga Pinoh-Sintang Road in Sidomulyo Village. Related news: Jakarta govt, police, military unite to deal with threats of flood
Related news: W Kalimantan: 216 homes flooded as Lake Sentarum overflows
Translator: Nur Aprilliana BS/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
