Floods Recede, Hundreds Of Families In West Lombok Have Difficulty With Food And Clean Water

A number of residents evacuated their belongings that were submerged due to flooding in Meninting Village, Batulayar District, West Lombok Regency, NTB, from Monday to Tuesday (7/12/2021). ANTARA/Awaludin

LOMBOK - A total of 109 families in Rukun Tetangga (RT) 03 Peresak Hamlet, Meninting Village, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, lacked supplies of food and clean water after the flood receded.

"Aid that goes to Peresak Hamlet does exist, but is limited and does not reach RT 03, even though the number of family heads reaches 109 people, if you count the number of people it can reach more than 500 people," said Head of RT 03 Sahwan, who was met in Peresak Hamlet , Meninting Village, West Lombok, Tuesday, December 7th.

He admits that his residents really need ready-to-eat food because they cannot cook their own food, even though the flood has receded. This was due to the damaged cooking utensil being submerged in water.

In addition, they do not have food supplies because their property was submerged in a one meter high flood that occurred on Monday, December 6.

"Cooking is also difficult because residents also have difficulty getting clean water. Well water is still cloudy and unfit for consumption because it is submerged in water mixed with mud, while PDAM water is stuck until now," said Sahwan as quoted by Antara.

Darwis, a resident of RT 03 Dusun Peresak, also admitted that he was having difficulty getting food and clean water, even though the flood conditions had receded.

In fact, on the first day of the flood, he and his family received packages of rice from relatives in Mataram City.

"If there is no delivery of packaged rice from my family in Mataram City, to this day, I may not be able to eat," he said. cleaning his house which was muddy due to the flood.

"Cooking has not been possible to this day because the stove is broken. And there is no one who wants to cook. Not to mention that clean water is hard to come by," said Darwis, who had just returned from fleeing from an emergency tent built in a cemetery not far from his house.

Wedi conveyed the same complaint. The young man who works as a barber every day can only surrender to the conditions of deprivation after the flood.

"All household furniture was damaged by water, mattresses, pillows, clothes were all submerged in muddy water. The stove was also damaged, so we couldn't just cook instant noodles, the help we got from donors," said Wedi.