South Kalimantan Floods Up To 1.5 Meters, 555 Houses And 55 Hectares Of Farmland Ready To Harvest Submerged

Flooding in South Kalimantan (Photo: BNPB Public Relations)

JAKARTA - There was high-intensity rain in Tanah Bumbu District, South Kalimantan on Thursday, May 13, 2021. As a result, Satui River overflowed at 06.00 WITA and Haruyan River overflowed at 18.00 WITA.

"As a result, hundreds of houses in both watersheds were affected by flooding with varying heights", said Head of Data Information and Communication BNPB (National Agency for Disaster Management), Raditya Jati, in a statement on Friday, May 14.

Raditya said Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Tanah Bumbu and Hulu Sungai Tengah Districts both reported hundreds of homes affected by the overflow of the river.

A total of 555 units of people's homes and 55 hectares of agricultural land ready to harvest were affected by flooding with a high water level (TMA) between 1 meter to 1.5 meters reported by BPBD Tanah Bumbu Regency.

Meanwhile, BPBD Hulu Sungai Tengah District reported as many as 629 units of people's homes flooded with TMA between 25 cm to 50 cm.

"In Tanah Bumbu Regency, floods soaked one village in Satui Subdistrict, namely Sinar Bulan Village. While the wider flood occurred in Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency, namely in Haruyan Subdistrict precisely in Haruyan Seberang Village, Haruyan, Lok Buntar, Pangambau Hilir Dalam, Pangambau Hilir Luar and Mangunang", he explained.

Flooding in South Kalimantan (Photo: BNPB)

According to the BPBD team report of the Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency in the field, on Friday morning the residents who had been displaced had returned to their homes because the flood had receded.

"But different in Tanah Bumbu Regency, as many as 98 residents still survive in the refugee camp because the flood still has not receded", he said.

Separately, the Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) released an early warning alert for the potential for moderate to heavy intensity rain that could be accompanied by lightning and strong winds in the morning to afternoon or afternoon.

The commemoration was located in the city area of Banjarmasin, Banjarbaru, Banjar Regency, Barito, Kuala, Tapin, Hulu Sungai Selatan, Hulu Sungai Tengah, Hulu Sungai Utara, Balangan, tabalong, Kotabaru, Tanah Bumbu and Tanah Laut on Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, through the study of InaRISK, the Tanah Bumbu Regency has a moderate to high flood disaster risk with an area of risk of 77,996 hectares or covers 10 sub-districts. Then for Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency also has a moderate to high flood disaster risk with an area of risk of reaching 58,414 hectares or covering 11 sub-districts.

"With the early warning issued by BMKG and in a risk assessment, BNPB urges the community and local government to always be prepared for disasters that can occur at any time by preparing a preparedness plan from the smallest level of families", it said.