PRR Task Force Prioritises Permanent Mitigation in Post-Disaster Areas
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) for Sumatra has stated that permanent mitigation measures must be prepared promptly so that similar incidents do not continue to recur.
A Satgas PRR report noted that high-intensity rain battering Central Tapanuli Regency on Saturday (18/7) caused flooding in several areas, particularly Tukka Subdistrict, although floodwaters have gradually receded and the emergency response proceeded swiftly.
Based on field monitoring on Monday, the flooding was triggered by heavy rainfall lasting more than an hour and a half, causing river levels to rise and overflow into residential areas.
The river overflow also carried sediment that impeded water flow at several points, including bridge access routes serving as community lifelines.
Coordinator for North Sumatra at Satgas PRR, Brigadier General TNI Fadjar Tjahjono, explained that the emergency response was carried out quickly through collaboration between the regional government, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), and various other relevant parties.
Sediment that had accumulated around the bridge was promptly cleared using heavy machinery so that community access could be restored.
“The mitigation step we must take is to strengthen the embankments along the river channels. The sediment that has been removed cannot simply be piled back up; the embankments need to be reinforced with stone or gabions so that when water levels rise, the mud does not flow back into residential areas,” Fadjar said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
Strengthening embankments, organising river catchment areas, and protecting points prone to overflow are priorities so that the response does not stop at post-flood clean-up, but continues towards a more permanent and sustainable solution.
Fadjar added that the government has provided budgetary support to accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction. Regional governments are therefore expected to promptly optimise the implementation of mitigation programmes according to field needs so that flood risks can be significantly reduced.
Meanwhile, during the emergency response period, the Central Tapanuli Regency Government, through the BPBD together with the TNI, Polri, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), and local communities, moved quickly to evacuate affected residents in the subdistricts of Tukka, Badiri, Pinangsori, and Sarudik.
The Central Tapanuli Social Affairs Office also opened a public kitchen at the HKBP Sipange Church Hall to meet the basic needs of evacuees.
Based on provisional data, 67 households, or around 223 people, were affected by the floods and temporarily evacuated before conditions gradually improved.