Reviewing Pasuruan Flood, Governor Khofifah Instructs Preparation of 10 Pumps in Rejoso

The East Java Provincial Government has deployed 10 water pumps to tackle flooding in Rejoso Subdistrict, Pasuruan, East Java. “This is a short-term solution to drain the water flooding residents’ homes,” said East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa during her inspection of the flood site in Rejoso Subdistrict, Pasuruan, on Thursday (26/3). During the visit to the affected location, Khofifah stated that the East Java Provincial Government underscores the need for effective and strategic long-term measures to address this annual issue. One of the main challenges on the ground is the technical condition when the river overflows. There are 10 water pumps prepared—six from the Provincial Water Resources Service (SDA) and four from the local regency government—but not all can be operated at maximum capacity during peak flooding. “The obstacle is that the river water level is currently level with the water flooding the land. If pumped now, there is no drainage space because the river water is also high. We must wait for the river water to recede first so that the pumping process can be effective,” said Khofifah. Although partial normalisation of the Rejoso River has been carried out, the focus now shifts to the numerous tributaries contributing water flow to settlements and agricultural lands. Therefore, the East Java Provincial Government is pushing for inter-agency collaboration to ensure all tributaries are well-connected to the sea outlet. “Normalisation of tributaries must be ensured all the way downstream. If the flow is directly connected to the sea, water discharge will be much faster and minimise flooding on land,” she added. Besides infrastructure, the economic impact on the agricultural sector is also a serious concern. “The East Java Provincial Agriculture Service, together with the local government, is currently conducting intensive data collection on inundated rice fields,” she said. If the data indicates crop failure or total loss due to flooding, the East Java Provincial Government is committed to providing seed assistance to affected farmers to accelerate food production recovery.