PU Ministry Handles Tanggul Jebol in Central Tapanuli, Restore Access

The PU Ministry is handling an emergency on the Sigala-gala Bridge that was broken due to heavy rain. Photo: Dok. PU Ministry

JAKARTA - The Aek Sigala-gala River embankment in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province, collapsed after very heavy rainfall hit the area on Saturday, July 18.

As a result, access to the Sigala-gala Bridge was cut off because the bridge's ramp was damaged.

The Directorate General of the Ministry of Public Works (PU) carried out emergency handling by deploying two heavy equipment units to repair the Sigala-gala Bridge.

The repair was carried out so that heavy equipment could pass to the location of the breached embankment.

After the access was opened, the handling on Saturday night was focused on closing the breached embankment so that the river flow could be controlled again.

Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that his party deployed personnel and equipment to minimize the impact of disasters on the community.

"The PU Ministry has deployed personnel and equipment so that the impact of disasters on the community can be minimized. The main priority is to restore community access, repair the breached embankment and ensure that the river flow is smooth again, so that the risk of subsequent flooding can be suppressed," said Dody, quoted from a written statement, Monday, July 20.

In addition to the broken bridge, the residential area around the location was also flooded with a flood height ranging from 50 to 150 centimeters.

Based on reports in the field, heavy rain occurred from around 13.00 to 17.00 WIB or lasted about four hours.

High rainfall caused the discharge of the Aek Sigala-gala River to increase drastically to exceed the capacity of the river.

As a result, the water overflowed past the river embankment which has a height of about four meters.

The overflow then eroded the embankment body until it finally caused the embankment to collapse.

In addition to closing the breached embankment, the PU Ministry will also carry out sediment removal in the Aek Sigala-gala River using four heavy equipment units.

This step was taken to increase the capacity of the river flow, so that it can reduce the risk of overflow when it rains with high intensity.

As of Saturday evening, the flood conditions were reported to be gradually receding. Rain in the area is still ongoing with light intensity, while the remaining puddles of about 20 centimeters continue to flow into the Tukka River.

The PU Ministry stated that it would continue to monitor the development of conditions on the ground and coordinate with local governments (pemerda) and related institutions to ensure that emergency handling is carried out.