West Sumatra Kuranji Watershed Experiences Significant Widening After Flood

A child plays on the edge of the Batang Kuranji River which experiences widening after flash floods and landslides in Padang City, West Sumatra, Tuesday (9/12/2025). ANTARA/Prisca Triferna

The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) said the Kuranji Watershed (DAS) flowing through the cities of Padang and Solok, West Sumatra experienced widening of the river body from about 15 meters to 150 meters after flash floods and landslides.

Met in the city of Padang, West Sumatra on Wednesday, Head of the Planning and Evaluation Section of the Agam Kuantan Watershed (BPDAS) Kemenhut Anton Sudarwo said temporary monitoring showed the widening of the Kuranji watershed after floods and landslides some time ago.

"The land type is almost 90 percent of the type of kambisol, there is also a little regosol towards the beach. But from the middle to the upstream, there are many forests, it's a kambisol. The land of Kambisol is still young, it has not entered the old class, so it is still vulnerable to shifting terms," he explained as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, December 10.

The type of soil that is in the Kuranji watershed can absorb water when it rains, but when there is a significant increase in the water discharge, this type has the potential not to hold water and overflow with the large trees around it.

"Incidentally yesterday, when it was triggered by extreme rain, up to 139 millimeters per day ... then seen from this flow pattern towards this point, that's why the one on the Mount Nago Bridge was carried down by the bridge," he said.

Widening of the river body also occurs in a number of other watersheds that have experienced disasters, apart from the large amount of water discharge, the trees carried by the water current also affect this. The widening will also have an impact on residential areas and other community activities that increase the risk when it rains with high intensity.