25,032 North Aceh Residents Refuge Due To Flood

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

BANDA ACEH - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of North Aceh Regency recorded that as many as 25,032 people from 6,633 families were displaced due to floods that hit the area.

Acting (Plt) Head of BPBD North Aceh Regency Murzani said the displaced residents were spread across seven sub-districts.

"Residents fled because the water level in their homes continued to rise to 160 centimeters. They took refuge in a number of places, such as mosques and meunasah," said Murzani, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 3.

There were also residents who fled, namely in Lhoksukon District as many as 14,945 people from 3,737 families, Matang Kuli District as many as 1,280 people from 486 families and Pirak Timu District as many as 3,313 people from 699 families.

Furthermore, there are 1,292 people in the Stepan Subdistrict from 381 families, the Samudera Subdistrict with 700 people from 303 families, the Tanah Luas Subdistrict with 3,302 people from 1,027 families.

"There are 200 refugees in the Kuta Makmur sub-district. Meanwhile, the number of families affected by the flood is currently being collected by the team in the field," said Murzani.

Murzani said the flood inundated the 108 villages due to overflowing and bursting of a number of rivers. In addition, the flood also submerged a number of public facilities and community agricultural land.

"Until now, water is still flooding community settlements. Even the Medan Banda Aceh national highway in Lhoksukon, the capital of North Aceh Regency, is inundated," said Murzani.

Meanwhile, Head of the Public Relations Section of the Regional Secretariat of North Aceh Regency, Hamdani, said the regional government had coordinated with regional and cross-sectoral leadership elements to determine flood conditions in North Aceh to become a disaster emergency.

"The overflow of a number of rivers that caused flooding continues to spread until 12 sub-districts have been submerged and have threatened the safety of people's lives and property, so a disaster emergency status has been declared," said Hamdani.

With the determination of the status of an emergency disaster, said Hamdani, the district government will focus on handling flood disasters because the flood conditions that occurred in North Aceh were already in the danger category.

"Officers from various agencies continue to be on standby to provide evacuation assistance and panic assistance for residents affected by flooding," said Murzani.