The flooding was triggered by the overflowing of Belawan River following downpour in the affected areas on early Friday, Sunggal Head Ismail revealed.
Ismail has pegged a possible rise in the number of fatalities since search efforts to rescue and evacuate flood victims were still underway.
The search and evacuation missions in disaster zones were conducted by a joint team of search and rescue workers from the North Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), police, and SAR Agency, he remarked.
The floodwaters reached a height of two and three meters in certain areas, he noted.
The authorities reported that the flash floods swamped at least 140 houses in Tanjung Selamat Village, Ismail noted.
The Medan BPBD was quoted by the local media as reporting that the flash floods affected 5,965 residents, or 1,983 households, while a total of 2,773 houses were affected.
Over the past two months, North Sumatra bore witness to at least two flash floods. On November 18, 2020, a flash flood also hit the Bukit Lawang tourist resort in Langkat District.
The flash floods, caused by the overflowing of Landak River in the Bukit Lawang tourist resort, destroyed a suspension bridge and ripped apart 13 wooden and bamboo kiosks.
The flash floods washed away 13 cows, though no fatalities were reported in the catastrophe that struck following heavy rains lashing the areas from 00:00 to 2 a.m. local time, Bahorok Sub-district Head Dameka Putra Singarimbun stated.
Apart from North Sumatra, several other Indonesian provinces also experienced hydro-climatic disasters.
In Aceh Province, flash floods caused the Bailey Bridge to collapse, resulting in access being severed and several hundred residents of the villages of Buluseuma and Persiapan Trans Cikala in Suro Sub-district, Aceh Singkil District, getting isolated on September 10, 2020.
The flash floods, triggered by the Lae Sinendang River overflowing its banks following torrential rains over the past few days, had also submerged certain parts of the Subulussalam City-Aceh Singkil road section, homes of villagers, and houses of worship.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Juraidi, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
