Three Flood And Land Victims Of Padang Pariaman Land Land Found Dead

Floods (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Floods and landslides in Padang Pariaman Regency, West Sumatra claimed three lives. The three victims have been found based on a report from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

"The victim who died was found yesterday," said Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari quoting Antara.

According to him, one victim died after his body was dragged by the swift currents of the flood, and two others were found dead in a pile of landslide material.

However, he could not confirm the identity and location where the victim was found. This is because the BNPB Pusdalops is still waiting for a detailed report from the team in the field, which until now still has to be tasked with evacuating residents.

Seeing the ongoing evacuation process, it is admitted that it is possible that the number of victims could increase.

For this reason, BNPB appealed to residents who feel that relatives and family members are missing to immediately report to joint officers who have been alerted at the location for the smooth running of the search process.

Based on a report from the Padang Pariaman Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) team, 800 housing units were spread over 13 sub-districts and 10 hectares of rice fields were still flooded with a water level of 30 centimeters - reaching 3 meters.

The water level was exacerbated due to the large volume of the overflow of the local river which was unable to contain heavy rains that had been pouring down the area since Friday (8/3) afternoon.

A total of 2,958 residents were forced to be evacuated to emergency tents, or public facilities, and several others fled to their relatives who were safe from the flood of landslides.

The damage to three bridges and one connecting road due to heavy flood currents was reported to be quite an obstacle for the joint BPBD team, TNI/Polri, Basarnas to evacuate.

Apart from that, the Padang Pariaman Regency Government is committed to meeting the basic needs of the victims, by establishing public kitchens and health posts in several disaster locations.