Ogan Rendam River Floods 1,277 Houses in OKU, 5,295 Residents Affected

The settlement of residents in OKU Regency, South Sumatra is submerged in flood. (Photo: ANTARA)

BATURAJA - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Ogan Komering Ulu Regency (OKU), South Sumatra, has listed as many as 1,277 houses of residents in the area affected by floods due to high rainfall which caused the Ogan River to overflow on Friday evening, April 17.

"Based on the latest data collection, a total of 1,277 houses were flooded with 5,295 people affected. There were no casualties," said the Head of BPBD OKU Januar Efendi in Baturaja, Saturday, as reported by ANTARA.

He revealed that the areas affected by the flood included Terusan Village, Tanjung Baru, Tanjung Kemala, Lubuk Batang Lama, Gunung Meraksa, Kepayang, Belimbing, Lubuk Kemiling, Kedaton, Kampai, Suka Pindah, Bunglai Village, Pasar Baru Village, Baturaja Lama, Kemalaraja, and Tanjung Agung Village with water levels between 30 centimeters to 1 meter.

Based on monitoring until this afternoon, he said, the flood in a number of affected areas had gradually receded and people's activities had returned to normal.

However, there are several villages in Kedaton Peninjauan Raya Sub-district that still have floodwater, including Bunglai, Kedaton, Kampai, Lubuk Kemiling and Suka Pindah Villages.

"The flooding in these villages is quite severe with the number of affected residents reaching 579 units," he explained.

BPBD OKU deployed personnel to be on standby at the flood site to help residents carry out activities using one rubber boat.

"Until now, our personnel are still in the field to help the mobility of residents so that they can continue to carry out activities in the midst of flooding," he said.

On this occasion, Januar again appealed to the public to continue to increase vigilance against the potential for subsequent flooding so as not to cause casualties.

"We also intensify monitoring the discharge of the Ogan River so that if there is an increase, early warnings can be passed on to the public to be aware of together," he said.