116 Hectares Of Rice Fields In Tulungagung Were Damaged And Submerged By Flood

Flooded rice fields in Tulungagung (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Agriculture Office of Tulungagung Regency, East Java noted that around 116 hectares of rice fields, which are entirely planted with young rice, were damaged by floods.

For several days in the past week, the Tulungagung area has indeed been hit by heavy rains.

"That is temporary data that we have reported. We are still monitoring it to date", said the Coordinator of POPT at the Tulungagung Agriculture Service Gatot Rahayu in Tulungagung, as reported by Antara, Friday, February 12.

The total land affected by the flood actually reaches more than 880 hectares. However, most were only affected by the flood, which lasted briefly and had subsided within a few hours, or a matter of 1-2 days.

Meanwhile, the potential for the damage occurs if the stagnant water is immersed for more than three days. Because rice stalks will tend to be damaged and rot.

"Of the approximately 880 hectares of inundated rice fields, 116 hectares of them are confirmed to have failed harvests (puso). The area (which was damaged) may continue to swell because we are still updating it. Initially around 18 hectares, it continues to increase to 116 hectares", he said Gatot.

It is said, agricultural land in the Kalidawir District area is the worst and most experienced harvest failure. In fact, even though the floods hit almost a week ago, the water is still stagnant.

Losses due to damaged agriculture or crop failure are estimated at more than IDR 700 million. The potential loss, according to Gatot, is calculated with the assumption that each rice plot per hectare reaches IDR 6 million.

Previously, 880 hectares of rice fields in Tulungagung were flooded, which are spread across nine sub-districts.

The sub-districts affected by the flood consisted of Rejotangan District 13 villages, Boyolangu two villages, Campurdarat two villages, Sumbergempol one village, Tulungagung one village, Kalidawir six villages, Pakel three villages, Gondang two villages, and Ngunut District two villages.