"The number of displaced residents may increase because the floodwaters still inundate several villages and sub-districts," Head of the BPBD-Kapuas Hulu Office Gunawan said on Friday.
Floodwaters, which inundated 1,110 houses and 128 public facilities in 32 villages of seven sub-districts in Kapuas Hulu, are caused by the overflowing of Kapuas River following heavy rains pelting the region on Nov 25.
As of Friday, at least 8,320 households with 25,263 residents were affected in sub-districts Putussibau Selatan, Putussibau Utara, Embaloh Hilir, Bunut Hilir, Bika, Bunut Hulu, and Pengkadan, he revealed.
In Embaloh Hilir, floodwaters inundated the low-lying areas of Belatung, Lawik, Ujung Bayur, Kirin Nangka, Pala Pintas, Keliling Semulung, Nanga Lauk, Nanga Palin, and Nanga Embaloh villages.
In Bunut Hilir, floodwaters submerged the low-lying areas of Empanggau Hilir, Empanggau, Teluk Aur, Nanga Tuan, Entibab, Tembang, Ujung Pandang, Kapuas Raya, Bunut Hulu, Bunut Tengah, and Bunut Hilir villages, he remarked.
The BPBD has prepared a disaster mitigation team whose personnel can be dispatched to assist those in need of evacuation and are assigned to monitor the affected areas, Gunawan stated.
He spoke of having requested an emergency response status while underscoring the need for the right figure of displaced residents for his agency to request for the government's rice reserves for those in need.
ANTARA earlier reported that some 100 army personnel from the Special Raider Battalion of 644 Walet Sakti in Kapuas Hulu District, West Kalimantan, have been on standby to help evacuate the flood victims.
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, recently.
"We also prepare our hall for sheltering displaced residents," he remarked.
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 lashed 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.
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Translator: T.Timotius, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
