Thousands flee flooded houses in N. Sumatra

Thousands flee flooded houses in N. Sumatra

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Thousands of people in Medan, North Sumatra, were forced to flee
their homes after the Deli River breached its banks overnight
Monday.

The exodus, from riverbank areas in the subdistricts of Medan
Maimoon and Medan Polonia, started on Monday night after
floodwaters reached two meters.

The took refuge at places of worship, village head offices and
houses in safer areas.

The flooding was worst in several parts of Medan Maimoon,
forcing at least two elementary schools on Jl. Brigjen Katamso to
close.

However, by Tuesday afternoon the refugees had begun to return
home as the floodwaters receded in a number of areas.

The Medan administration said the refugees numbered in their
thousands, including around 500 families from Kampung Baru, 1,760
people from Aur, 106 families from Suka Damai, 200 families from
Sei Mati and 300 others from Sukaraja.

Medan Maimoon administration secretary Syarifuddin Harahap
said the flood, triggered by rain, started to flood houses around
10 p.m. on Monday.

Floodwaters continued to increase after the river burst its
banks, he added.

"As it was at night, the residents were extremely panicked.
Because floodwaters continued to increase until Tuesday morning,
many of them had to flee their homes," Syarifuddin told The
Jakarta Post.

He said there were no reports of injuries or casualties from
the flooding, but added that many victims had incurred losses as
their goods and important documents were submerged.

Jumirin, a 50-year old resident from Sukaraja, said many
people had lost personal property, including TV sets and
furniture. Important documents had been damaged or swept away by
the flood.

"The most important thing is all our family members are safe
from the disaster," he said.

Ismunandar, welfare division head at the Medan administration,
said his office provided food assistance to the flood victims on
Tuesday through taskforces in neighborhoods and subdistricts.

Medan Mayor Abdillah had instructed all village and
subdistrict heads to set up health centers to help the refugees,
he said.

"Such health centers are useful for post-flood victims because
Medan is being plagued by an outbreak of dengue fever,"
Ismunandar added.

At least 12 people, mostly children, have died from the
mosquito-borne disease in several regencies across North Sumatra
between March and September, local health officials have said.

Firman, who heads the Polonia office of the Meteorology and
Geophysics Agency (BMG), warned residents in Medan that more
floods could follow because rain would continue to fall this
month accompanied by strong wind.

Since last week, several parts of Java island, where farmers
and other villagers suffered the worst brunt of the devastating
drought, have seen occasional rainfalls.

Environmentalists have urged the regional administrations and
residents to prepare for possible floods to hit their areas
during the upcoming wet season.

Five people were killed in a rain-triggered landslide that
struck a sand quarry in Caringin district, Bogor, West Java, on
Saturday.

On Sept. 16, nine people were killed after a landslide swept
away eight houses located on the slope of a deforested hill,
Patrol, in Wangonjaya village, Cikalong Wetan regency, near
Bandung, West Java.

The Bandung administration has listed Cikalong Wetan as one of
22 landslide-prone districts in the regency.