“The flood occurred due to high rainfall in Gunungsitoli city since Thursday night,” acting chief of the Gunungsitoli City Disaster Mitigation Office, Ignatius Harefa, said on Friday.
The heavy rains caused several rivers, including Nou in Gunungsitoli sub-district and Afia and Sowu in Gunungsitoli Utara sub-district, to overflow their banks, he added.
The floodwater reached 1–4 meters in depth, he informed.
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“The river water overflowed and inundated houses since Friday at around 2 a.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time)," the official said.
The Gunungkidul City BPBD evacuated residents from their homes in cooperation with Nias Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas Nias), Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), and National Defense Forces personnel (TNI) stationed at the District Command 0213 /Nias, Harefa added.
Currently, some residents have returned home from the evacuation points, he said.
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Translator: Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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