Regent Of Jember: Flooding Is Suspected As A Result Of River Silting And Transfer Of River Functions

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

JEMBER - The Regent of Jember Hendy Siswanto said that the flooding that occurred in several villages in three sub-districts in the area was thought to be due to the silting of the river and the conversion of riverbanks.

"I visited several villages that were affected by floods and the area is flooded almost every year and this year the floods are quite large," he said after monitoring floods in Sumberbaru and Semboro Subdistricts, Jember Regency, East Java, quoted by Antara, Friday, November 12.

According to Hendy, the flood has the potential to be even greater, if the government does not immediately work together with the community not to use riverbanks as land for farming.

"The width of the Embankment River is actually more than 50 meters, but now it is only 20 meters wide, so there is silting and besides that on the riverbanks it is also used as rice fields," he said.

For this reason, the Jember Regency Government will coordinate with the central government and the East Java Provincial Government by conveying the problem of narrowing and silting of the river, so that it is hoped that there will be assistance from the State Budget and Regional Budget of East Java in handling the problem.

"We will send a letter to the Governor of East Java and the central government to get assistance in normalizing the river that is experiencing siltation," continued Hendy.

The Regent of Jember Hendy Siswanto together with the muspika visited the location of the flood in Sumberagung Village, Sumberbaru District, then headed to Pondok Jaya Village and Pondok Dalem Village and ended up in Sidomulyo Village, Semboro District.

In addition to reviewing the flood location, the Jember Regent's entourage handed over assistance to residents affected by the flood disaster in several locations and appealed to the public to increase their vigilance for the next few months.

Based on data from the Jember BPBD, floods and landslides spread across eight villages in three sub-districts, namely Semboro, Tanggul, and Sumberbaru sub-districts with 1,294 houses affected, two houses heavily damaged, and six public facilities also damaged.

The flood gradually receded, but there were still dozens of residents whose houses were flooded to a height of below 50 cm in Semboro and Sumberbaru Districts.