One missing in N. Sumatra flooding

One missing in N. Sumatra flooding

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Amid water shortages in many parts of the country that have
caused widespread crop failure, flooding hit the North Sumatra
town of Sibolga on Tuesday, with one person thought drowned and
hundreds of others forced to flee their homes.

The victim was identified as Adolf Manalu, a 10-year-old
elementary school pupil who fell into Aek Doras River. His body
has not yet been found.

Some 400 families of Aek Muara Pinang village in South Sibolga
subdistrict and Ake Panis village in Central Sibolga fled to
higher ground.

However, many returned home on Tuesday evening after the
floodwater receded.

The flood was triggered by three hours of heavy rain in
Sibolga and surrounding areas, causing a number of rivers to
overflow, including one in Aek Sihopo-ho in South Sibolga
subdistrict and another in Aek Doras in North Sibolga
subdistrict.

Floodwater was up to 1.5 meters deep in residential areas.

Meanwhile, heavy rain in Central Tapanuli regency -- adjacent
to Sibolga -- caused a landslide in the mountainous area of Bonan
Dolok, Sitahuis subdistrict. No injuries or casualties have been
reported.

The landslide buried a section of the Sibolga-Taratung road,
said Rudolf Sihotang, head of the Central Tapanuli civilian
police unit.

"Residents and local officials are removing the soil from the
affected area," he said.

Firman, who heads the Polonia Meteorology and Geophysics
Agency (BMG) in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, said rain
would continue to fall through to November and could cause
floods.

Last week, Firman warned local residents of heavy rainfall
accompanied by strong winds in several areas in the province
starting this month.

North Sumatra Governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin said recently that
115,903 hectares in the province were prone to flooding.

He said the provincial administration had taken measures to
control flooding on 63 percent, or 72,537 hectares, of the land.

The governor called on the public to increase neighborhood
security and help with flood control in their areas.

Rizal acknowledged that large rivers in North Sumatra -- such
as the Asahan, Silau, Batang Ayumi and Bilah rivers -- needed to
be dredged to prevent them from overflowing during the rainy
season.

"The length of rivers prone to overflowing is around 386.4
kilometers. So, if the rain is quite heavy, all the rivers could
overflow and cause flooding in surrounding areas," he said.

The governor said floods and other disasters should be handled
in an integrated manner, involving central and local
administrations, non-governmental organizations, experts and
businesspeople.

"We still hope to come up with a grand strategy to prevent
floods," he said.