Therefore, all related parties across Aceh province need to intensify disaster preparedness and response, head of BPBA's Disaster Management Unit, Fazli, said in Banda Aceh city on Wednesday.
"For mitigation efforts, we are disseminating any information on disaster risk mapping that we are receiving from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to the related agencies," he added.
Based on scientific documents, BPBA has identified 14 disasters that have frequently hit Indonesia's westernmost province over the past years.
They include earthquakes, wildfires, floods, landslides, and extreme weather, he said.
BMKG earlier forecast that the rainy season will begin in 10 percent of the country's regions at the end of October 2023.
The agency on Tuesday predicted "slight and moderate rains" in the regions, including in a majority of areas in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra, and Bengkulu.
Certain parts of West Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, West Papua, and Papua would also start experiencing the rainy season at the end of October, according to the BMKG.
ANTARA has reported that Aceh has repeatedly experienced severe flooding due to heavy rainfall.
In early November 2022, for instance, floods inundated some parts of 12 sub-districts in Aceh Tamiang district as well as Southeast Aceh district.
The floods in Tamiang district displaced 23,380 residents. Those severely affected by the floods moved to higher ground.
According to BPBA, in several parts of the district, the floodwaters reached a height of 1.5 meters.
The flash floods that hit Southeast Aceh district on November 1 were caused by high-intensity rains that led to the Kali Alas, Lawe Kinga, and Muara Baru rivers overflowing their banks, it added.
The overflowing water damaged river embankments in the six sub-districts of Babussalam, Babul Rahmah, Bambel, Lawe Alas, Lawe Sigala-gala, and Darul Hasanah in Southeast Aceh. It also damaged portions of a bridge that connected the sub-districts of Darul Hasanah and Badar.
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Translator: Khalis S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
