President Jokowi Calls Weather To Transfer Functions Of Land Triggered By Demak Floods

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the evacuation posts for flood-affected residents at Ganesa Demak Vocational School, Demak Regency, Central Java Province/DOK ANTARA

DEMAK - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that extreme rainfall, river sedimentation, to land conversion, was also the cause of flash floods in Demak Regency. In addition to the collapse of the embankment due to extreme weather, according to him, the deposition in the river or sedimentation was also triggered by the large number of plants that were cut down, causing flash floods. "All rivers have always had a sedimentation problem. Why does that happen because it is also not inhibited upstream, plants that are cut down a lot. The problem is everything there. If there is no flash flood, it will be flooded," said President Jokowi after reviewing flood victims in Demak, as witnessed in the YouTube upload of the Presidential Secretariat in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, March 23. President Jokowi also highlighted the conversion of land functions with illegal logging. He asked for efforts to prevent land transfer. As a long-term effort, President Jokowi requested that the local government (Pemda) can reforestation and reforestation of land that has switched functions. The intensity of extreme rain has triggered a number of embankment infrastructures in Demak Regency to burst with varying leakage widths. According to President Jokowi, the embankment was broken due to river capacity exceeding the normal threshold. "But last night the wide one, which broke 15 meters, last night at 1 o'clock, was closed, finished for four consecutive days during the day and night," said President Jokowi. In addition to closing the broken embankment, President Jokowi continued, the government through the Weather Modification Team (TMC) is trying to shift a collection of clouds towards the sea to reduce rain in Demak Regency and its surroundings. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that the flood conditions that hit Demak Regency triggered six embankments to divide the river flow.

This situation resulted in 24,436 residents being affected by the flood because the water inundated their residence until Thursday (21/3).