Merbau River Overflows 5 Villages Submerged By Flood

JAKARTA - High intensity rain caused the Merbau River in North Labuhanbatu Regency, North Sumatra (North Sumatra) to overflow. As a result, 5 villages were flooded with water levels reaching 250 centimeters.

Head of the Disaster Management Data and Communication Center for the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Raditya Jati said the 5 villages are located in Merbau District, namely Simpang Empat Village, Merbau Selatan, Belongkut, Lobu Rampah, and Pasar Village.

"Residents whose houses were flooded fled to a safer place and their closest relatives," said Raditya, in his official statement, Sunday, September 13.

According to the BNPB Pusdalops report, the flood resulted in moderate damage to 80 housing units, 1 mosque being moderately damaged, 1 prayer room being damaged, 1 school being moderately damaged, and 1 unit of Village Maternity Cottage (Polindes) severely damaged.

"The latest flood conditions in several villages have started to recede, but in Simpang Empat Village there are still 50 centimeters of inundation at some points," he said.

The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Labuhan Batu Utara Regency has deployed a quick reaction team to collect data, evacuate refugees and affected houses and set up public kitchen tents, assisted by the TNI, Polri, village officials and volunteers.

Meanwhile, according to the Dasarian II weather forecast from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the potential for rain with medium to high intensity will still occur.

Responding to the high potential, BNPB appealed to the public to always be alert and ready to anticipate the impact of these natural phenomena, such as floods, flash floods, landslides and strong winds.