Police Intervene To Help Handling Disasters In South Solok, West Sumatra

South Solok Police personnel together with the TNI and local BPBD also helped evacuate fallen trees blocking the national road due to landslides in Liki, Sangir, Sunday (19/3/2023). (ANTARA)

PADANG ARO - South Solok Resort Police, West Sumatra, deployed around 150 personnel to assist in handling natural disasters that hit the area on Sunday after heavy rains from Saturday night to Sunday morning.

"We distribute these personnel to areas that are hit by natural disasters, but most of them are in the Pagu River because in the sub-district many residents are affected by flash floods due to overflowing rivers," said Deputy Head of South Solok Police, Kompol Efrdar Roza, quoted by ANTARA, Monday 19 March.

A number of natural disasters, such as floods, landslides and fallen trees hit six sub-districts in the district bordering Kerinci, Jambi.

The six sub-districts that were hit by natural disasters, Koto Parik Gadang Diateh, Pagu River, Pauh Duo, Sangir, Sangir Jujuan and Sangir Batang Hari.

The South Solok Police assisted in handling natural disasters starting from evacuating residents, helping residents evacuate goods, cleaning people's houses from mud, and distributing food to flood victims.

"The evacuation of residents and helping residents secure their belongings starting Sunday morning when the flood submerged hundreds of houses in Tarandam Village," he said.

The Resort Police together with the TNI and local BPBD also helped evacuate fallen trees blocking the national road due to landslides in Liki, Sangir.

"Today, we are still deploying personnel through the local police," he said.

According to temporary data from the South Solok Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the flood inundated 635 houses inhabited by 606 families consisting of 2,400 people in the Sungai Pagu sub-district.

The flood also caused the river to collapse and about 25 hectares of agricultural land to be inundated in the sub-district.

In addition, the flood inundated five houses inhabited by six families with 20 members in Sangir Jujuan District and caused four houses inhabited by six families with 23 people to be inundated in Sangir Batang Hari District.

In the Pauh Duo sub-district, the flood had an impact on agricultural land covering an area of 6,600 meters away, five plots of fish ponds, and four families.

Meanwhile, in the Koto Parik Gadang Diateh sub-district, landslides had an impact on a house inhabited by a family with five members.

Landslides also occurred in the Sangir sub-district. The disaster affected two houses inhabited by two families with eight people, two suspension bridges, about 10 meters on the district road.