Palembayan, West Sumatra (ANTARA) - A survivor of the flash flood\ndisaster that struck Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan subdistrict, Agam\nregency, West Sumatra, Joris continues to provide banking services by\nutilising the remaining part of his house.<\/p>\n
Joris, a BRILink agent met on Thursday, stated that the shop house\nlocated across from his home was completely destroyed, swept away by the\nflood without trace.<\/p>\n
Banking service activities were thus forced to be moved to his house,\nwhich now only has the back room left.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany subscribers, transactions are busy here, withdrawals and\ntransfers. So, two days after the disaster, I reported to BRI, and after\nthree weeks, operations resumed,\u201d said Joris, who has been an agent for\nthree years.<\/p>\n
In very limited conditions, he turned the bedroom window into a\ntransaction counter. A simple table was placed in front of the window\nfrom the inside to hold the electronic data capture (EDC) machine and\nthe money authenticity checker. Meanwhile, internet vouchers are\narranged on a small shelf in the room.<\/p>\n
Although he received banking equipment assistance from the bank as\ncompensation for the losses, Joris admitted he does not yet have enough\ncapital to rebuild the shop house.<\/p>\n
He mentioned that ideally, an agent should have Rp100 million in the\naccount and Rp100 million in cash. However, all his cash was lost, swept\naway by the flood.<\/p>\n
To resume operations, he had to borrow Rp60 million from a colleague,\nusing his personal car as collateral.<\/p>\n
This decision was made considering that before the disaster, the\ntransactions he handled could reach 100 times a day with varying amounts\nand types.<\/p>\n
However, the number of transactions dropped by 50 percent after the\ndisaster, as many customers also became victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany transactions are lost because the deceased victims were also my\ncustomers. I remember them because of daily transactions. Sometimes\ntheir children send money from abroad, they withdraw here, people still\nremember me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even though serving transactions in limited conditions, several\nresidents were observed still visiting Joris\u2019s house to carry out\nvarious transactions, from transfers, cash withdrawals, bill payments,\nto data pulse purchases.<\/p>\n
The flash flood, landslide, flood, and tornado disaster hit Agam at\nthe end of November 2025, resulting in 165 deaths.<\/p>\n
The highest number of victims came from Palembayan subdistrict with\n136 fatalities.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/survivor-continues-providing-banking-services-from-the-remains-of-home-after-disaster-1773931878", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }