Puan Asks The Government To Be Quick In Handling Flash Flood Victims In OKU And Kolaka

Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani. Photo: Kresno/nr

JAKARTA - DPR Speaker Puan Maharani encouraged the Government to swiftly deal with victims of the flash flood disaster in Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) Selatan, South Sumatra, and in Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi. He emphasized the importance of handling emergency responses for residents who are victims.

As is known, heavy rains that flushed South OKU caused river water to overflow, causing flash floods. As a result of the natural disaster, two suspension bridges were broken and six people were lost by the flood.

Even flash floods in South OKU also swept away 2 houses so that 3 residents who were one family were dragged by the water current. One person has been found dead, and another missing victim is still being searched. This disaster also caused 366 houses in 6 South OKU sub-districts to be flooded so that as many as 202 heads of families or 457 people were also affected.

Meanwhile in Kolaka, flash floods hit 15 urban villages and villages spread across 7 sub-districts and caused 1,151 families (KK) to be affected. Puan emphasized that the local government (Pemda) needs to prepare all the needs needed for victims.

"Make sure the handling is alert. The government must be able to prepare the basic needs of the victims, especially those living in refugee camps. Both from logistics, medical needs, access to clean water, even trauma healing for victims," said Puan, Thursday, July 6.

"Tenda pengungan warga juga harus ramah bagi anak, lansia, serta ibu hamil/menyusui. Permudah segala kebutuhan para korban," sambung Puan.

Seeing the large number of affected residents, the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also encouraged the central government to closely monitor the disaster response handling carried out by the local government and officials. According to Puan, attention from the center is needed to ensure that displaced residents are placed in safe and comfortable shelters, and the basic needs are guaranteed.

Furthermore, all government agencies, both central and regional, are asked to cooperate effectively with disaster response programs. Puan reminded that there should not be disaster victims who do not receive assistance.

"Resign regional and central resources. Deploy strength from the Regional Government, BPBD, TNI, Polri, community, volunteer groups and all stakeholders to carry out emergency response," he said.

Puan also asked that the search and evacuation process for victims who were still missing be carried out carefully. In addition, he highlighted the rehabilitation program for other impacts that needed attention considering that there were many agricultural land for residents who were also affected by the flash floods.

The DPR also emphasized the importance of mitigation steps by the Government to anticipate natural disasters. One of them is by developing and improving infrastructure in the regions.

The construction of strong water embankments or barriers along large rivers needs to be ensured to prevent river overflows from destroying residential areas. According to Puan, the construction of reservoirs can also help control the flow of water during the rainy season.

"One of the important steps in flood mitigation is the preparation of a spatial plan based on flood risk analysis. This must be prioritized so that flood disasters can be minimized," said Puan.

Puan added that the Government needs to cooperate with experts to develop better land use arrangements policies. This step aims to ensure that development and city planning in flood-prone areas are carried out by taking into account the calculation of water flow around residents' residences.

"By controlling spatial planning, it is hoped that existing development can control the damage caused by flooding. So that people will benefit from it," said Puan.