50,000 flee as floods hit Rokanhulu regency

Chaidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

Some 50,000 people fled to safer areas as floods triggered by three days of rain inundated their houses and farmland in at least 27 villages in Rokanhulu regency, Riau province, on Tuesday.

No casualties were reported, but thousands of livestock such as cows, water buffaloes, goats and chickens were swept away by the floods, the biggest to plague the town since 1976, after their owners failed to rescue them.

The floods also cut the Riau-West Sumatra highway as a landslide swept across the street at Tanjung Alai village in Tiga Belas Koto subdistrict in Kampar regency, around 80 kilometers from the Riau capital of Pekanbaru.

As a result, hundreds of trucks, buses and other vehicles heading to and from Riau were left stranded in a seven-kilometer traffic jam.

The vehicles were later rerouted to alternative roads, and motorists had to travel for many additional hours to reach their destinations.

Many passengers traveling to West Sumatra had to change buses in order to continue their journeys, while others had to turn back and return home.

Kampar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Suaroso Hadi asked trucks from West Sumatra carrying rice, vegetables and other staple foods to take the route that runs through Kiliran Jao, so they would arrive in Riau about nine hours faster than if they took other alternative routes.

"We suggest that trucks transporting basic commodities to pass through Kiliran Jao to get to Riau. This is aimed at anticipating possible shortages of rice and vegetable in Pekanbaru, Riau," he said.

The flooding that hit the 27 villages in three subdistricts -- Bangun Purba, Kunto and Kota Pasir Pangaraian -- in the regency of Rokanhulu, around 250 kilometers from Pekanbaru, ensued after three days of heavy rains which began Sunday.

The rains caused the Batang Labu River in the town of Pasir Pangaraian and other rivers nearby to overflow. Most of the affected houses and farmland ready for harvest were located near the Batang Labu River.

Floodwater reached a height of at least one meter, forcing tens of thousands of villagers to flee to safer areas en masse.

Sutikno, a 34-year-old resident at Pasir Pangaraian, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that he and other fellow villagers had abandoned their houses, and had failed to rescue thousands of their livestock from being washed away.

He and other local residents predicted that damages caused by the flooding would cost about Rp 10 billion.

"We can do very little in this. We just hope that the local government will provide us with assistance soon," Sutikno said.

Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Pandiangan said at least 60 personnel had been deployed to help victims in the affected villages and prevent further damages from the floods.

Meanwhile, the Rokanhulu administration established flood control posts, which are tasked with channeling humanitarian aid to the victims, among other duties.

So far, at least 10 tons of rice and hundreds of packages of noodles have been distributed to the victims.

"We have set up emergency soup kitchens in several locations to ensure that food is readily available to victims," Deputy Rokanhulu Regent Auni M. Nur said.

He blamed the floods on the rampant deforestation in border areas between Riau and North Sumatra, including the protected Mahato Forest where illegal logging continues unchecked.