Five Villages in Gorontalo Submerged by Flash Floods

Heavy flooding hit five villages in Biau Gorontalo Utara District, Gorontalo. The flood caused three houses to collapse and one unit was swept away by the flood in Didingga Village, Tuesday (26/5/2026). ANTARA/HO-Daniel Kalibato

JAKARTA - Five villages in the Biau District area, North Gorontalo, Gorontalo, have been flooded by a strong current since Tuesday afternoon at 15.00 WITA, due to the overflow of the Biau River Basin (DAS), triggered by heavy rain that continued to hit until Tuesday night.

Coordinator of Disaster Standby Cadets (Tagana) of Tolinggula District Daniel Kalibato said that the flood of knee-high adults has so far hit five villages in the district, namely Bualo Village, Luhuto Village, Omuto Village, Biau Village and Didingga Village.

The worst flooding hit Didingga Village, specifically in the Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) settlement, which is inhabited by 64 heads of households (KK).

"Flash floods swept KAT Didingga with water reaching the windows of houses. The water was so fast that it made it difficult to evacuate residents, even until 21.00 WITA in the evening, the flood in this settlement was still high and flowing fast, plus the roads were pitch black so that evacuation was still difficult," said Daniel as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, May 26.

Information from the village government through the Head of the Buade Village, Didingga Radem Hamsah, said that some residents had carried out self-evacuation, but there were still many who stayed in their houses because the flood of strong currents was still occurring.

A total of three houses collapsed and one house was swept away by the flood. It is not yet known whether there were any casualties.

His party, said Daniel, was still having difficulty communicating with residents in the flood area.

Previously, the main road across Sulawesi that passed through the five villages was closed by flood around 16.00 WITA, but tonight the water on the highway began to recede even though the flood in the settlement was still flowing fast.

He said police officers from the Tolinggula and Tagana sectors were at the location to help secure and evacuate residents.