BPBD: 138 Flood-affected Villages In West Kalimantan

Flood conditions in Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan (ANTARA/Timotius)

PONTIANAK - Head of the Information Task Force for the West Kalimantan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Daniel said that so far 138 villages have been affected by the flood in West Kalimantan.

"A total of 138 villages spread across six districts in West Kalimantan were affected by flooding, namely Bengkayang, Kapuas Hulu, Kubu Raya, Landak, Sambas and Sintang. In terms of the number of affected residents as many as 24,256 families or 75,485 people. The flood conditions are receding and there are still flood conditions with varying heights," he said in Pontianak, reported by ANTARA, Friday, January 19.

He explained, of the six districts affected by the flood, four districts have established emergency response status in the context of handling flood disasters, namely Bengkayang Regency, Kapuas Hulu, Landak and Kubu Raya.

"Then one district, namely Sintang Regency, has declared a flood emergency alert status. The status determination is for faster handling floods in the area," he said.

The flood conditions that have occurred in West Kalimantan since January 4, 2024, are all caused by high intensity rain conditions. This results in flooding in areas that are indeed prone to flooding.

"Since the beginning of this year, it has been raining in West Kalimantan with high intensity. In addition, the impact of shallow rivers and critical land absorption," he explained.

According to him, with the existing incident, it is necessary to mitigate flood disasters by deepening shallow rivers, closing critical land with reforestation, water infiltration must be maintained and spatial planning needs to be addressed by all parties.

"Regarding the flood management itself, all parties have worked hand in hand, starting from local governments, BPBD, TNI and Polri as well as other parties. Assistance from either local governments or from people who care has been distributed to affected communities. We urge people in flood-prone areas to continue to be vigilant," he said.