Houses Flooded for Months, Dembe Gorontalo Residents Break Through Limboto Lake Embankment

Photos of the air of residents' houses were submerged in water because there were no waterways in Dembe, Gorontalo City, Gorontalo. BETWEEN ATA/Adiwinata Solihin

GORONTALO - Several residents of Dembe 1 Village, Gorontalo City, Gorontalo broke through the embankment of Lake Limboto by digging because their houses had been flooded for almost seven months due to the lack of drainage.

One of the residents, Siswaty Ibrahim, said that they had to do this because the stagnant water smelled and was also a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

"The water discharge here has started to rise and is starting to rot, all of it is entering residents' houses. With the initiative of the community, they cut this road so that the water can flow into the lake," he said as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, February 6.

He explained that residents had actually submitted a request for assistance to the village office, but had not received a response.

"We have come to the village office to find a solution so that this water does not continue to stagnate. However, until now there has been no initiative from the relevant parties," said Siswaty.

This condition disrupts the lives of local residents, especially because of the increasing number of mosquitoes and various health problems.

Since July 2024, the floodwaters that have submerged more than 45 houses with more than 100 residents have not receded, affecting infants, toddlers, and the elderly living in the area.

Meanwhile, Head of the Water Resources Infrastructure Planning Section of BWS Sulawesi II Gorontalo Haris Djafar said that his party would immediately follow up on residents' complaints regarding the inundation.

"So we will plan steps for the future. So we ask for support from the people of Gorontalo City in Dembe and Lekobalo," he said.

He said that the team from BWS Sulawesi II had gone to the location to review the condition of the embankment.