Kapuas River Overflows, Residents' Houses In Pontianak Are Submerged With A Height Of 5-10 Centimeters

A number of houses in Pontianak City, West Kalimantan Province, Tuesday, were submerged in water with varying heights (ANTARA)

PONTIANAK - A number of houses in Pontianak City, West Kalimantan, were submerged in water with a height varying between 5-10 centimeters due to the overflowing water of the Kapuas River.

"Water started to enter the house at around 08.00 western Indonesia time and now the water level is about 10 centimeters," said Dede Iskandar, a resident of Banjar Serasan Village, East Pontianak District, reported by Antara, Tuesday, December 7.

He explained that the tide from the Kapuas River was quite high than usual, so that it submerged residents' houses to a height of about 10 centimeters.

"The impact of overflowing water entering the house does not soak the furniture, because it has been anticipated," he said.

Juni, a resident of Jeruju, West Pontianak District, also acknowledged the same thing. According to Juju, this high tide has occurred for approximately two days.

"So we have anticipated it by raising or storing household furniture to a higher place so that it is not submerged in water," he said.

According to him, the high tide or overflow of the Kapuas River regularly occurs from December to January. "We are used to this incident," he said.

Juni added that his party had anticipated this by elevating the floor of the house. But this step does not help much because the water still enters along with the high rainfall.

Previously, the Mayor of Pontianak Edi Rusdi Kamtono appealed to people living on the coast of the Kapuas River and lowlands in the city to be aware of the potential for high tide flooding due to extreme weather.

"Looking at the BMKG data, there will be high tides in the next few days, hopefully at the same time there will be no heavy rains, so that it will not have an impact on stagnant water in low-lying areas in Pontianak City," he said.

Edi said the potential for high tides in the next few days according to the Pontianak Maritime BMKG as high as 1.7 meters which occurred from December 6 to 11, 2021.

He explained that the highest tide was from 08.00 western Indonesia time to 12.00 western Indonesia time, it was predicted that the sea tide would be at its maximum period from 7 to 11 December 2021.

The Pontianak Maritime Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts or monitors the maximum tidal potential in Pontianak City and its surroundings will continue until December 11, 2021.

With this phenomenon, people around the riverbanks and lower areas are advised to remain vigilant and alert to anticipate the impact of maximum tides such as the inundation.