"Five houses were swept away by water currents and destroyed. However, no fatalities were reported because when the floods broke out at around 8 p.m. local time, their occupants had rushed outdoors."Bengkulu (ANTARA) - A flash flood, caused by heavy rains, destroyed 37 houses in Air Keruh Village in Bengkulu Province, Indonesia, on Monday night and triggered the forced evacuations of 133 people to higher ground.
The flooding caused grave damage to 18 houses and moderate and minor damages to 19 other structures, Air Keruh Village Head Muljono stated on Tuesday.
"Five houses were swept away by water currents and destroyed. However, no fatalities were reported because when the floods broke out at around 8 p.m. local time, their occupants had rushed outdoors," he remarked.
The flash flooding also severed access to two suspension bridges linking Air Keruh to the neighboring villages, he noted.
The suspension bridges were the only ones used by children of the village to go to school, he affirmed.
The flash flood also inundated public facilities, including the village head's office.
"All documents and other office equipment, such as laptop, kept at the village head's office are believed to have been submerged by floodwaters," he revealed.
The flash flooding occurred after the Air Keruh River overflowed its bank following torrential rains on Monday night.
The overflowing of the river caused floodwaters to reach a height of 1.5 meters in the residential area.
Most houses swept away by water currents were located on the riverside.
Floods are prevalent natural disasters during the transition from dry to the rainy season in Indonesia.
On Saturday (Oct 3), flash floods had submerged hundreds of houses in the southern part of Cianjur District, West Java, on Saturday, compelling hundreds of families to evacuate to higher ground, according to the Cianjur District Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD).
The floods affected the four sub-districts of Leles, Cijati, Sindangbarang, and Agrabinta, Secretary of BPBD Irfan Sopyan confirmed.
Leles Sub-district bore the maximum brunt of the floods, with floodwaters, reaching two meters high, submerging most houses in four villages.
EDITED BY INE
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Translator: Carminanda/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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