Flood team sent to Netherlands

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Medan municipality administration sent on Tuesday a joint team to the Netherlands to learn about how to handle flooding, which often hits the city.

The team will ask the Dutch government to present the drainage system blueprints of Medan, which was once built by Dutch engineers.

Medan Mayor Abdillah said the visit was deemed important in order to prevent more flooding in Medan in the future.

"I have consulted the Dutch government on how to stop the flooding. They are ready to help us. They have experts in water management," he told The Jakarta Post in Medan.

According to Abdillah, his administration could not deal with flooding in the city as the blueprints of its Dutch-designed drainage system could not be found.

However, environmental activists have said flooding in North Sumatra was caused by deforestation due to widespread illegal logging. --JP