Flooding spreads throughout Jambi

Flooding spreads throughout Jambi

Jon Afrizal and Muh. Huzair, The Jakarta Post, Jambi/Palembang

Flooding has spread to more areas in Jambi province. While a few
days ago flooding had only hit Jambi city, on Wednesday
floodwaters spread into the neighboring city of Batanghari.

The flooding in Batanghari regency are due to the overflow of
the Batanghari and Batangtembesi rivers that pass through the
regency.

The hardest hit area in the regency is Kampungbaru
subdistrict, in which at least 20 houses were inundated by water
between 50 centimeters to 1.5 meters deep.

Due to the flooding, dozens of residents have taken refuge in
temporary shelters. "We have provided refuge shelters in safer
areas that can be used by residents affected by the flooding,"
said Ardani Z. Putra, the head of Community Protection and
National Unity at Batanghari regental administration.

Several residents in East Jambi district complained that the
government had been slow in responding to the disaster. As of
Wednesday, garbage still clogged the city's ditches and canals,
making water overflow into streets and housing complexes. The
government should have cleaned up the garbage to allow the
floodwater to flow into the river and the sea, the residents
said.

Meanwhile, Mahendra Thaher, an activist in Jambi, blamed
deforestation for the flooding.

"Some one million hectares of forest have gone and this is a
serious problem. The government has to embark on a massive
reforestation program to prevent flooding in the future," said
Mahendra.

Separately in South Sumatra province, two bridges in Muaraenim
regency collapsed on Sunday following flooding in the area,
cutting transportation between Talang Taling and Tanjung Medan
subdistricts.

"For the time being, we are using boats to transport people
and goods between the two subdistricts," said Nawawi, a local
resident, on Tuesday.