Kudus Floods As A Result Of 4,277 Residents Refuge

The number of residents affected by flooding in Kudus Regency and Demak Regency, Central Java and displaced in refugee camps in Kudus Regency reached 4,277 people.

"We recorded that 1,619 residents from Kudus Regency and 700 residents from Demak Regency fled. However, today (Monday, 18/3/2024) at 08.00 WIB, the number increased to 4,277 people," said the Head of the Emergency and Logistics Section of the Kudus Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Munaji, in Kudus, Monday, March 18, quoted by ANTARA.

Munaji explained that of the thousands of refugees, 1,558 residents came from Demak Regency.

Refugee locations are scattered in 24 places, including places of worship, village halls, residents' houses, PKK buildings, TPQ, NU Muslimat buildings, Kudus DPRD, Kudus Hujjaj Jam'iyyatul Building (JHK), Islamic boarding schools, and markets.

Refugees from Demak Regency are distributed in five refugee camps, namely JHK Building, Kudus DPRD, Graha Mustika, NU Loram Kulon Muslimat Building, and Saerah Market.

"To meet the needs of the refugees' food and drinks, we provide 15 public kitchens," he added.

The number of villages affected by the flood has also increased from the previous 29 villages to 31 villages spread across five sub-districts.

Munaji explained that although the current intensity of the rain is not so high, the flood inundation rises between 5-10 centimeters (cm). In Kaliwungu District, the height of the inundation even reaches 50-200 cm, so some road access cannot be traversed.

Floods also inundated the western South Ring Road with a length of 1.5 kilometers. Jalan Tanjungkarang-Jetikapan was also inundated and badly damaged. Currently, the water discharge of the Wulan River is starting to decline by around 30-40 cm.

Kudus BPBD is still trying to evacuate flood victims, because there are still many residents who choose to stay at home even though the inundation is getting higher and finally forced to evacuate.

To optimize flood management, the Kudus Regency Government has established an emergency response status for strong winds, floods and landslides. With this status, unexpected funds can be used for disaster management, including for assistance to refugees.