Impact of Flooding in Demak Expands to Six Villages

Flooding in Demak Regency, Central Java, caused by the collapse of an embankment and overflow from the Tuntang River due to high-intensity rainfall, has expanded further, with six villages now recorded as affected on Friday.

“Six villages affected by flooding are spread across three districts in Demak Regency, up from just a few villages previously,” said the Head of the Demak Regency BPBD Implementation Agency, Agus Sukiyono, in Demak on Friday.

He revealed that the largest number of affected villages is in Guntur District, with four villages: Trimulyo, Sidoarjo, Turitempel, and Sumberejo.

The number of residents’ houses affected by flooding in Guntur District is still being tallied, as the embankment breach location is also in that district.

“We also recorded four residents’ houses in Trimulyo Village that collapsed because their location is near the breached embankment,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Karangtengah District, he said, there is one village affected by flooding, namely Ploso Village, with 150 affected houses impacting 600 people and two places of worship.

For Wonosalam District, he added, there is one village, namely Lempuyangan Village. Meanwhile, the number of affected houses is also still being tallied.

To date, he said, joint teams are still conducting evacuations of residents to safer locations.

The Demak Regency Government together with joint teams has carried out several handling measures, including coordination with village governments and Forkopimcam, assessment of affected areas, distribution of sandbags for emergency embankment handling, provision of evacuation sites at several points, such as village halls and district offices.

In addition, ongoing efforts include monitoring affected areas, damage assessments, and cross-agency coordination.

“Currently, water discharge in several hamlets such as Solowere and Solondoko is still high. Affected residents have been evacuated to the Trimulyo Village Hall. The embankment that collapsed in Solondoko Hamlet, Trimulyo Village, is reported to be about 30 metres long,” he said.

Flood levels in each village vary, between 20 centimetres (cm) and 80 cm.