Flash Floods Hit Solok; BMKG Confirms Early Warnings Were Issued
Flash floods struck the Solok region, West Sumatra, on Monday (21/09/2026) night. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that they had been issuing periodic weather early warnings.
BMKG Acting Deputy for Meteorology, Andri Ramdhani, noted that mitigation steps through early warnings had been implemented regularly and progressively, down to an hourly scale (nowcasting).
“Regarding the flash floods in Solok Regency, we at BMKG wish to convey that well before the incident, early warnings had been issued from a 7-day scale, a 3-day scale, and even on an hourly nowcasting scale,” said Andri during a press conference at the BMKG Central Office, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (22/09/2026).
He suspected that the high rainfall detected by the BMKG early warning system was the primary trigger for the flash floods in the Solok area.
“The rainfall recorded by BMKG fell into the heavy category, particularly in the area around Solok, at 94 millimetres per day. This certainly triggered the flood event,” Andri said.
Despite the early warnings being issued for the event, Andri mentioned that daily atmospheric dynamics indicate the potential for extreme weather in West Sumatra has not yet concluded. Solok Regency and its surrounding areas remain within the zones that require continuous monitoring.
“Our monitoring shows that over the coming week, several areas need to be on alert, particularly in parts of Sumatra, specifically West Sumatra, as well as parts of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua,” said Andri.
Furthermore, he explained that Indonesia’s current climate is divided into two situations. On one hand, many regions are still experiencing drought due to the peak of the dry season. On the other hand, several regions are showing high rainfall intensity.
“We must remain vigilant as there are currently two conditions. One is that most areas are still dry due to the dry season, but in several regions, particularly north of the Equator such as Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, we must remain on alert,” Andri explained.
Consequently, Andri urged the public to remain vigilant and to actively monitor the latest weather conditions. “Please continue to monitor real-time information from various BMKG information channels,” he advised.
It was previously reported that flash floods hit Solok on Monday (21/09/2026) night at approximately 20:00 WIB. Due to the impact of flood debris and landslides, the main road connecting Padang City to Solok Regency was temporarily completely severed.
Several offices within the Solok Regional Government complex were also damaged, and office equipment was swept away by the floodwaters.