Six People Killed By Floods And Landslides In Western Spooky

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JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that six residents died due to floods and landslides in Western Seram Regency, Maluku Province." Previously, three victims were declared missing but were later found dead," said Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday, July 7.Abdul said the flood was triggered by high-intensity rains that caused river overflows to cause landslides in Iha Village, Huamual District, Western Seram Regency, Maluku province and dragged six local residents. The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Western Seram Regency noted that in addition to claiming six lives, floods and landslides resulted in one housing unit being heavily damaged and the connecting road between villages was buried with soil and landslide material. In addition as many as six residents were displaced to safer places." Efforts to search for previously missing victims involved BPBD and TNI Polri officers to local community volunteers. Officials also appealed to the local community to temporarily refrain from activities at the scene to avoid falling back casualties," said Abdul.The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) through its website released an early warning of the potential for bad weather in the Maluku region for Thursday (7/7) to Saturday (9/7). BMKG said that there is a potential for moderate to heavy rain which can be accompanied by lightning and strong winds in the Ambon City, Central Maluku Regency, South Buru, Aru Islands, Tanimbar Islands, Western Seram and Eastern Seram.

With the early warning issued by the BMKG, BNPB appealed to the community and local governments to increase awareness of potential hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, flash floods, tornadoes and landslides. One of the precautionary efforts can be done by monitoring and cleaning materials that can hinder the flow of the river periodically.