BPBD Identifies 18 Broken Embankment Points That Cause Floods In Ponorogo

PONOROGO - The Regional Disaster Management Agency of Ponorogo Regency, East Java, identified 18 broken river embankments and became the main cause of the large floods that hit the area.

The Head of BPBD PonorogoMasun explained that temporary data showed damage to embankments spread across several rivers, such as Sono River, Keyang River, and Paju River.

Emergency handling with the closure of the broken embankment has been carried out since the beginning of the week, involving community service and heavy equipment assistance.

"The emergency closure has only been completed around 25-30 percent. We use geobags, geobags, and gabions so that floods do not occur again during heavy rains," said Masun as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, December 18.

The broken point in Kali Paju is the worst, with a length of damage reaching 40 meters.

This flood has a significant impact on the infrastructure and activities of residents in affected villages.

Hundreds of houses were submerged, agricultural land was damaged, and road access was inundated. The joint team from BPBD and BBWS Bengawan Solo continued to search the affected areas to ensure that no other embankments had not been identified.

Masun targets all embankment points to be closed within a week. Although temporary, this step is considered important to prevent further flooding.

"After the emergency closure, we will coordinate with BBWS for a permanent repair study. BPBD only proposes to BNPB according to BBWS' technical recommendations," he said.

This flood is a serious warning regarding the condition of the river embankment in Ponorogo.

Masun hopes that long-term handling can be realized soon so that similar disasters do not happen again.

This is because the flash flood disaster that occurred on Monday (16/12) submerged 14 villages in seven sub-districts, and forced hundreds of families to flee to safe locations, while the main access between regencies around Ponorogo broke completely.