"The floods caused by the overflowing of the Bingai and Mencirim Rivers submerged thousands of homes in 16 urban villages in five sub-districts," he said here on Friday.
Idaham paid a visit to the locations affected by the floods in Jalan Jambore Raya, Berngam village.
Upon arriving at the flood site, Idaham coordinated with the local disaster mitigation office (BPBD) to set up a command post, distribute aid to flood victims, and track victims who may have been dragged into the water when the flood struck.
"We will immediately provide assistance to the flood victims because flooding has prevented them from doing normal activities. We will also provide medicines as floods are prone to spread disease," he said.
He urged the flood victims to be patient and help each other and remain vigilant of the possibility of another flood.
"In the midst of this pandemic, take care of your health, ladies and gentlemen. I hope we work hand in hand in overcoming this disaster," he said.
In the meantime, in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, flash floods killed five residents of Tanjung Selamat village in Sunggal sub-district, Deliserdang district, a government official stated.
The flooding was triggered by the overflowing of the Belawan River following heavy downpour in the affected areas early on Friday, Sunggal head Ismail revealed.
Ismail predicted 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 informed.
The floodwaters reached a height of two to 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, and a total of 2,773 homes.
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Translator: Juraidi, Imam F, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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