"The current situation is still under control. The floodwaters have receded in some residents' houses, though several others are still inundated," Head of BPBD Tebing Tinggi Wahid Sitorus stated here on Saturday.
Sitorus remarked that at least 3,222 residents from five sub-districts in Tebing Tinggi City fled to higher ground since their houses got inundated.
The flooding was triggered by incessant heavy rains in the upstream area of Simalungun District that caused the Padang River to overflow its banks.
The floodwaters began to rise since the night of Thursday (Nov 26) in the event of which the sub-district heads reminded the residents to stay vigilant owing to the high likelihood of the water levels continuing to rise.
Semut and Bandar Utama were among the areas inundated by floods.
"The BPBD officers, along with the police and military officers, are still combing through the flooded areas to evacuate older people and women," he stated.
Indonesia is currently experiencing the rainy season that produces La Nina-induced high intensity of precipitation that has triggered flooding in several provinces.
Last week, floods swamped 1,078 houses in Batang Serangan Sub-district, Langkat District, North Sumatra, following incessant heavy rains that caused the Air Tenang and Batang Serangan rivers to overflow their banks.
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Translator: Juraidi, Dani, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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