Floods Hit Palabuhanratu Sukabumi, One Resident Dies In Water Flow

Illustration of floods (ANTARA)

SUKABUMI The heavy rain that flushed the Palabuhanratu area, Sukabumi Regency, West Java, on Saturday night, April 19, 2025, again caused flooding at a number of points. In addition to submerging settlements and paralyzing main road access, this incident also claimed one life.

The victim was named Entis Sutisna (49), a resident of Cempaka Putih Village, Palabuhanratu District. He reportedly died after slipping while riding a motorcycle around the bridge behind the Sukabumi Regency Regional Secretariat Office (Setda), one of the areas most severely affected by the flood.

The village head of Palabuhanratu, Yadi Supriadi, confirmed the unfortunate incident. According to eyewitness testimony, the victim was crossing the flooded area on his motorbike when he suddenly slipped and fell. In this condition, the victim had a seizure and immediately received help from local residents.

"After being examined by the local midwife, the victim was declared dead," Yadi said when confirmed, Sunday, April 20.

This incident adds to the length of the list of victims due to the flood disaster in the Palabuhanratu area in recent years. The geographical condition that is vulnerable and the lack of optimal drainage system is the main cause of the recurrence of flooding in the area.

Yadi explained that the flood was caused by overflowing river water that was experiencing silting. The river, which should be able to accommodate the rainwater discharge, overflowed into residential areas due to high sedimentation and lack of normalization efforts.

"This is not the first time an incident has happened. The untanished silting of the river is the main trigger for flooding which keeps repeating every rainy season," he added.

He hopes that the local and central governments will immediately normalize rivers and improve flood control infrastructure so that similar incidents do not happen again.

In addition to causing casualties, the flood also disrupted the mobility of residents. Several main roads such as Jalan CanGHgar and Jalan Bhayangkara are submerged in water with varying heights, forcing a number of vehicles to turn around or even strike after desperate to break through the puddle.

This situation causes long traffic jams and disturbances in community activities, especially those who have to travel at night.

As of Sunday morning, a number of residents whose houses were affected still chose to flee to safer places. Residents hope that there will be quick handling from local governments, not only in the form of emergency assistance, but also concrete efforts to prevent flooding in the future.

Residents assess that the handling of floods so far has not touched the root of the problem. In addition to extreme rainfall factors, river silting, poor waterways, and rampant land conversion also worsen conditions.

"We ask that the river be normalized immediately. Don't wait until there are more victims," said a resident who asked not to be named.

This flood incident in Palabuhanratu is a reminder of the importance of preparedness to face disasters, especially in vulnerable areas that already have a history of similar incidents. The government is expected to act quickly so that people do not continue to be victims every rainy season comes.