However, the flooding has not disrupted services in several government offices ..."Nunukan (ANTARA News) - Floodwaters have inundated as many as nine schools in Sembakung Sub-district, Nunukan District, North Kalimantan, hampering teaching and learning activities in the region.
Head of Sembakung Sub-district Iskandar stated here on Wednesday that the schools were closed as the waters of the overflowing Sembakung River, whose upstream area is in Pensianan Negeri Sabah, in Malaysia, have inundated all the schools and public facilities in four villages in the area.
Floodwaters have inundated hundreds of houses in Atap, Tagul, Lubakan, and Bungkul villages.
"However, the flooding has not disrupted services in several government offices as the buildings are located on higher ground," Iskandar noted.
The local authorities had to close down the schools, while hundreds of elementary, junior, and high school students were being evacuated due to the floods.
Since last week, the Sembakung River has been overflowing due to high-intensity rains in the region.
In January 2014, the Sembakung Sub-district was also inundated by floods from neighboring Malaysia.
As many as 13 out of the 20 villages in the sub-district were submerged in the floodwaters arising due to heavy rainfall in the past few days.
Thousands of houses and at least 8.5 thousand families were affected by the floods in 13 villages located along the Sembakung River.
Floodwaters reaching a height of about five meters inundated the floors of peoples homes, which are mostly traditional platform houses.
Activities in schools and offices had to be halted due to the floods.
(Reporting by M. Rusman/Uu.A059/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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