A Total Of 836 Houses In Merauke Were Damaged After Flooding

Floods in Merauke Regency due to extreme weather (doc. Antara).

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that 836 housing units in Merauke Regency, South Papua, were damaged after being hit by floods due to extreme weather.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, said hundreds of housing units were damaged with mild to moderate classification.

"Each affected house is in Sumber Mulya Village, Telaga Sari Village, Sumber Rejeki Village, and Wapeko Village in the administrative area of Kurik District," said Abdul Muhari.

He further mentioned that the joint team consisting of BPBD Merauke Regency and TNI/Polri are currently still on standby at the disaster site to carry out handling the impact of the damage caused.

Efforts to handle this are also carried out to normalize agricultural land affected by flooding with a total area of 485 hectares so that it can be reworked by the local community.

"The joint team is on alert until the emergency response period set by the Merauke Regent ends," he said as quoted by Antara.

In the BNPB report, it did not mention the condition of the 2,762 flood victims that occurred on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. It is not clear whether they have returned to their respective homes or are in refugee camps.

Nevertheless, Abdul ensured that the Government would continue to strive to meet the basic needs of thousands of affected residents during the post-flood normalization process. You see, in a disaster emergency condition, public safety is prioritized.