Flash Flood Strikes North Gorontalo, Hundreds of Homes Buried in Mud

Hundreds of homes in Biau District, North Gorontalo Regency, Gorontalo Province were buried in mud and debris following a flash flood that struck the area on Wednesday (27 May). The Gorontalo Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) team arrived at the scene early Wednesday around 3:15 AM WITA and found that Didingga Village was among the areas severely affected by the disaster. Mohamad Nasaru, Data Manager of the BPBD Provinsi Gorontalo’s Pusdalops PB, stated that field monitoring showed most residents’ homes were covered in mud due to the force of the flash flood. ‘Our monitoring in Didingga Village shows most residents’ homes are now buried in mud, while some houses and businesses have been damaged,’ said Mohamad Nasaru. According to BPBD Provinsi Gorontalo’s Pusdalops report, the flood occurred on Tuesday (26 May) after moderate to heavy rain fell over Biau District from 3:30 PM to 5:20 PM WITA. Water levels were reported to reach 100 to 250 centimetres in residential areas. Preliminary BPBD data shows five villages affected: Bualo (132 households), Didingga (115), Biau (122), Omuto (85), and Luhuto (75). Hundreds of homes across these villages were impacted by the flood. Although the floodwaters have receded, mud and debris still cover some homes and access points in the affected villages. The Gorontalo Provincial BPBD and North Gorontalo Regency BPBD are continuing assessments and cross-sector coordination for disaster response, evacuations, and cleaning up homes of residual mud and flood debris. The Provincial Social Affairs Office, along with Disaster Ready Youth (Tagana), has also been deployed to the affected areas. Entities involved in flood response include the Gorontalo Provincial BPBD, North Gorontalo Regency BPBD, Social Affairs Office, military/police, district and village governments, and the Sulawesi II River Basin Office.