Floods hit Langkat again

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Three districts in the regency of Langkat, North Sumatra were still inundated by flooding on Thursday that had initially started on Wednesday.

Floodwater on the roads was still 10 centimeters deep in Tanjung Pura, Besitang and Sawit Seberang districts, and an average of 80 centimeters deep in residential areas.

Several government offices were still closed, and human activities had not yet returned to normal.

Spokesman for the North Sumatra provincial administration Sakhyan Asmara said in Medan on Thursday that flooding could hit the regency at any time until December. "Rainfall at the east coast of the province is very high."

Floods first hit Langkat early last month, forcing around 14,400 families to seek refuge. Many of them have yet to return home, while more than 2,000 flood victims have visited puskesmas (community health centers), mostly complaining of diarrhea.

Another flood hit the regency on Wednesday, submerging the three districts of Tanjung Puira, Besitang and Sawit Seberang, where more than 1,000 families live.

The flooding caused a total loss of about Rp 11 billion, local officials said.

According to head of the North Sumatra provincial health office Fatni Sulani, as many as 4,264 people had visited nearby puskesmas with diarrhea and skin problems.

"Some of them also have stomach complaints."

Chief of the Langkat flood task force Masri Zein said that 107.32 tons of rice, 1,550 kilograms (kg) of sugar, 1,000 kg of cooking oil and 12,450 boxes of instant noodles had been collected from donors.

Meanwhile, floodwater inundating parts of the city of Medan on Wednesday has subsided.

The situation in Beringin subdistrict in Medan Selayang and Aur subdistrict in Medan Maimonn returned to normal on Thursday after floodwater had submerged the areas to a depth of one meter on Wednesday.

Heavy downpours had caused the Babura and Deli rivers to burst their banks on Wednesday.