"The flooding commenced at 1:30 a.m. WIB (Indonesian Western Standard Time), and at around 4 a.m. WIB, the waters began to recede. In the morning, the victims began cleaning up their respective homes," Head of the Emergency Section of the South Solok Regional Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) Romi Aprijal stated here on Monday.
In Jorong Pasa, 34 houses were inundated, with 46 families comprising some 400 people being affected.
In Jorong Taratak, flooding submerged 80 homes of 90 families comprising 450 people.
Aprijal noted that floods occurred following heavy rains lashing the entire day in South Solok that caused rivers to overflow their banks.
In the early hours of Monday, the water level in the affected residential areas reached 1.3 meters.
The local authorities have distributed relief aid comprising instant food for flood victims.
A rescue team was deployed to help residents clear up mud in the flooded homes.
In the meantime, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that La Nina natural phenomenon is currently developing until the end of this year, and its impact, notably rainfall, with high precipitation, will peak in January and February and gradually end in March and April 2021.
La Nina, known for causing torrential downpours and widespread flooding across the country, is estimated to increase rainfall by nearly 40 percent throughout the country.
The agency projected that 27.5 percent of Indonesia's territory will experience above-normal rainfall at the end of 2020 or during the rainy season. The regions include Lampung, South Sumatra, West Sumatra, parts of Bengkulu, Riau, and parts of North Sumatra and Aceh. Indonesia, with monsoon and dry seasons, is prone to natural disasters, and usually some 75 percent of the disasters are hydrometeorological in nature, such as flooding, landslides, and strong winds.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that during the period from January to Oct 17 this year, Indonesia had recorded 2,276 natural disasters.
The hydrometeorological disasters comprised 827 floods, 637 whirlwinds, and 416 landslides.
The disasters affected 4.5 million people, with 307 individuals losing their lives, 25 persons going missing, and 469 people sustaining injuries. In addition, the disasters caused light, moderate, to serious damage to 35,176 houses and 1,481 public facilities.
The agency also recorded a total of 321 forest and land fires and five volcanic eruptions over the period of time. Related news: Jakarta budget heavy on flood mitigation efforts
Related news: One student killed, another missing after flash flood in W Lombok
Translator: Mario SN, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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