Flooding and Landslides in Tanah Datar, the PU Ministry is Carrying Out Access Recovery
JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works (PU) is moving quickly to address the impact of flooding and landslides that hit Tanah Datar Regency, West Sumatra, due to heavy rainfall on Tuesday, May 12.
The handling is focused on restoring access, normalizing the river and repairing the affected infrastructure in a number of areas.
Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that his party continued to coordinate with local governments and related institutions to accelerate disaster handling so that regional connectivity and irrigation flows can be immediately recovered.
According to him, irrigation and roads damaged by yesterday's disaster are now the responsibility of the community, both the district, provincial, and central governments, in accordance with the President's Instruction.
"Especially because it is now entering the planting season, irrigation improvements must be prioritized," said Dody, quoted from a written statement, Friday, May 22.
The flood occurred after extreme rainfall reached 215 mm per day in the Lintau Buo area.
The high water discharge caused a number of rivers in the Indragiri River Basin to overflow, including Batang Tampo, Batang Piubuh, Batang Kawai, Batang Buo, Batang Selo, Batang Atar to Batang Baburai.
Then, the condition is exacerbated by sedimentation and narrowing of the river channel.
The hydrometeorological disaster affected seven sub-districts, namely Lintau Buo, Lintau Buo Utara, Tanjung Emas, Padang Ganting, Salimpaung, Sungai Tarab and Tanjung Baru.
A total of 16 nagari/villages were affected with infrastructure damage, including 12 severely damaged roads, 13 lightly damaged roads, six broken bridges, and damage to irrigation networks, dams, water pumps, houses of worship, and residential areas.
To support emergency handling, the Padang V Sumatra River Basin (BWS) deployed three excavator units, gravel material and mobilized HDPE pipes.
The handling is focused on normalizing the river flow, strengthening the eroded cliffs and restoring the function of water resources infrastructure to minimize the risk of subsequent flooding.
In addition to emergency handling, the PU Ministry also conducted an inventory of damage and prepared post-disaster rehabilitation steps with the local government.
Medium and long-term handling will be directed at controlling river sedimentation, increasing river channel capacity, and strengthening flood control infrastructure to increase the region's resilience to hydrometeorological disasters.