One dead as flood inundates 1,000 of homes in Rokan Hilir

One dead as flood inundates 1,000 of homes in Rokan Hilir

Puji Santoso and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru/Surabaya

Flooding has spread over the past week across Rokan Hilir
regency, Riau province, affecting some 3,600 houses as of Tuesday
and killing one.

Darwin, 7, was swept away by a strong current a few days ago
as he played with his friends in a river near his house in
Sedinginan subdistrict, Tanah Putih district.

Heavy rains caused several rivers in the regency to overflow
last week, with the runoff flooding at least three districts.

Hundreds of residents had taken refuge as of Tuesday on higher
ground, as the water reached a depth of 3 meters in some areas.

Aside from houses, the regency's main roads were also flooded
to a depth of 30 centimeters to 50 cm, including Jl. Teluk
Berembun, cutting road access between Riau and North Sumatra
provinces.

"Only trucks and buses can pass the roads," said Andreas, a
resident of Bagansiapi-api, Rokan Hilir regency, about 200
kilometers north of Riau's provincial capital of Pekanbaru.

Separately, a meteorology official in Surabaya warned on
Tuesday that more storms and heavy rains were expected.

"The sky over the city is full of cumulonimbus clouds today
(Tuesday), suggesting that storms and heavy rains are likely to
fall ... in the next few days," said Edy Waluyo, head of the
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) at Tanjung Perak port.

Edy called on airlines and commercial shipping companies to
take precautionary measures against possible storms that could
endanger travel by air or sea.

Surabaya was hit by a strong storm on Monday, which toppled
trees and electricity poles. Rain again fell on Tuesday in some
parts of the city, albeit lighter than the previous day.

Meanwhile, regional governments, including that of Central
Kalimantan province, are preparing measures in anticipation of
natural disasters and other possible adverse impacts during the
rainy season.

The Central Kalimantan government has earmarked Rp 7 billion
(US$744,680) to tackle flood problems.

Part of the fund would be used for dredging canals in
Palangkaraya, the provincial capital, Tony Prihartono, head of
the Central Kalimantan Public Works Agency, was quoted as saying
by Antara news agency.

The Malang municipal government is also planning to dredge
canals and rivers to prevent possible flooding, complemented by a
clean river campaign.

A key campaign message is that residents should not throw
garbage into rivers, Suyono, a senior Malang official, was quoted
by Antara.

Residents' habit of throwing garbage into local rivers has
clogged sluices in the city and shallowed the riverbed,
contributing to the annual flooding.