Pekalongan Flood Spread, Two-Thirds of the Region is Submerged

PEKALONGAN - Entering the fourth day, Monday, January 19, the flood disaster in Pekalongan City, Central Java, showed anomalies. Although the water level at a number of points began to gradually subside, the area affected by the area actually expanded to paralyze almost two-thirds of the city area.

The worst conditions are concentrated in the Tirto Baru area with water levels still reaching 1.5 meters. In this area, the water surface is reported to have dropped by about 20 centimeters after two flood control pumps were operated massively and emergency repairs to the embankment that had been breached.

The Head of the BPBD Pekalongan City, Budi Suheryanto, explained that the flood was triggered by the accumulation of extreme rainfall since last weekend, which was exacerbated by the runoff from the upstream area.

"In addition, the damage to the infrastructure of the embankment in the area behind the Prime Minister and the limitations of the drainage system accelerate the distribution of water to previously dry areas," said Budi Monday, January 19.

The escalation of the flood area triggered a drastic increase in the number of refugees from 972 people to 2,400 people. At least 14,000 houses were affected, forcing local authorities to increase the number of evacuation points from nine to 24 locations.

Until now, transportation access in the settlement is still completely cut off, and residents are urged to stay in emergency posts to avoid the risk of electrical short circuits and infectious diseases.

"The puddles are starting to shrink because the rain has subsided and the pumps are working at maximum capacity, but residents' houses are still submerged. There are no refugees who dare to return home," said M Zikron, one of the affected residents.