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.