The army personnel and three trucks could be dispatched to the flood-hit areas at any time, the battalion's commander, Lt. Col. Benu Supriantoko, stated in Putussibau, the capital of Kapuas Hulu District, on Wednesday.
"We also prepare our hall for sheltering displaced residents," he remarked, adding that the flash floods that occurred on Tuesday following downpours are inundating certain areas in several subdistricts in Kapuas Hulu.
The floodwaters submerge certain road sections in the affected areas. As a result, the local residents' mobility gets disrupted, Supriantoko remarked.
The 1206 Putussibau District Military Command has also put its personnel on standby and prepared command posts to assist the flood victims.
Certain parts of West Kalimantan Province are vulnerable to flooding. Flash floods inundated certain areas of the villages of Lamolda and Sekinyak near the Indonesia-Malaysia land border after heavy rains pelted the areas from morning to afternoon on Feb 3, 2021.
Floodwaters that submerged certain areas of the two villages in Lumar Sub-district, Bengkayang District, reached as high as an adult's waist.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), on Wednesday, issued a warning of possible downpours and thunderstorms in several provinces, including West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
In North Sumatra Province, a flash flood and landslide hit Simangulampe Village, Baktiraja Sub-district, Humbang Husundutan District, on December 1.
The catastrophe led to the deaths of two villagers and caused 10 others to go missing.
ANTARA reported earlier that search and rescue efforts were continued on Tuesday to find 10 people still missing following the December 1 flash flood and landslide.
A joint team of 535 rescue workers was deployed for the search mission, which entered its fourth day on Tuesday, according to Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas)-Medan Office Budiono.
They were divided into three groups to expand the search area, he remarked, adding that they were equipped with drones, mountaineering gear, diving equipment, a backhoe, and a landing craft.
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Translator: T.Timotius, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
