Flood hits North Sumatra, thousands evacuated
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
A major flood hit Nias Island and Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra, on Wednesday night following incessant rain over the last three days, forcing thousands of people to flee to safety.
Human casualties were reported and, as of Thursday, dozens of people were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
The disaster control coordinating unit (Satkorlak) announced in Medan on Thursday that the disaster in Nias had affected 216 families, with five villagers hospitalized, while some 2,500 people in Central Tapanuli were evacuated after their houses were inundated. Many people, wounded when trying to save their belongings, were still undergoing medical treatment in hospitals in Sorkam and Barus districts.
Nias deputy regent Agus Mendrofa said the deluge, which also swept away five semipermanent houses, was caused by the River Nou, which burst its banks and flowed through Gunungsitoli city since Tuesday.
Head of the local social affairs office in Gunung Sitoli Yanus Laross told The Jakarta Post that the river water inundating the town had arrived after three days of heavy rain.
"About 215 houses were submerged as the floods reached a depth of five meters," said Yanus.
A flash flood hit Nias in August and September 2001, killing more than 105 people and destroying hundreds of houses and other buildings. Also, 85 others went missing in the disaster.
The rains drenching the west coast of Sumatra in the past few days also flooded Central Tapanuli, where at least four districts -- Kolang, Barus, Sorkam and Andam Dewi -- were affected.
Of the flood-stricken areas, Kolang district was hardest hit, with its four villages, Hutatunggal, Lobu Harambir, Siduarupa and Kampung Lama, three meters to four meters under water.
Apart from the 2,500 people already evacuated in Central Tapanuli, Kolang district head Ikhmal Batubara said that, as of Wednesday night, more victims were rescued in rubber dinghies by local people and marines from the naval base in Sibolga.
The floodwater also disrupted the route between Sibolga and Barus due to road inundation around Kolang. It subsided on Thursday with the traffic beginning to flow normally around town.
Eddy Kelana, head of the provincial meteorology and geophysics agency in Medan, said rainfall in both regencies was high on Nov. 20.
He foresaw that more heavy rains were likely to occur in various regencies and cities in the near future, including Langkat, Binjai, Deli Serdang, Tebing Tinggi, Medan, Simalungun, Pematang Siantar, Toba Samosir, Dairi and Karo.
In anticipation of big floods in the province, Governor T. Rizal Nurdin held a coordination meeting with relevant authorities on Thursday to make plans for the rainy season.