"Rain with moderate intensity had fallen for 8 hours from Friday (4/2) to Saturday night (5/2) triggering flooding that displaced 105 residents," Head of the Pekalongan BPBD Dimas. Arga Yudha said here on Sunday.
According to him, currently around a hundred houses were flooded, so they took refuge in refugee camps prepared by the Pekalongan City Government, namely the Tirto Village Hall, Tirto Village Alhikmah TPQ, and Alkaromah Mosque.
The flooding submerged some hundred houses and several main roads, such as Wilis, Urip Sumoharjo, Yudha Bhakti, Karya Bhakti, Angkatan 66, Sutan Syahrir, Samanhudi, Kusuma Bangsa, Samudera. Pasai, and Kurinci streets
"Initially the flood waters reached a height of up to 50 centimeters, but on Sunday afternoon (6/2) it starts to recede," he said.
The incessant rains also caused Bremi River to spill over its bank and swamp Tirto area, including Kampung Baru and Gama Permai Housing.
Floods in Pekalongan also submerged residential areas in Pasirkratonkramat and Padukuhan Kraton .
Related news: Hundreds seek refuge in Central Java's Pekalongan following floods
Indonesia is currently experiencing the peak of rainy season that has already caused flooding in several provinces such as East Java, West Java, West Sumatra, Aceh, and Papua. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported that 2,931 disasters displaced 8.26 million people in Indonesia between January 1 and December 19, 2021.
Last year’s disasters claimed 654 lives, rendered 93 people missing, and left 14,105 others injured.
The disasters comprised 1,236 floods, 746 extreme weather incidents, 595 landslides, and 265 forest and plantation fires.
During the first week of January 2022, the agency recorded 68 natural disasters comprising 38 floods, 16 extreme weather events, 12 landslides, 1 forest fire, and 1 tidal wave.
The disasters left 7 people dead, 15 people injured, and 140,620 others affected and displaced.
Related news: Some 2,552 disasters struck Indonesia in 2021: BNPB
Translator: Kutnadi, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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