Pamekasan Needs Flood Early Detection Technology

The Regent of Pamekasan, Baddrut Tamam, inspects flood victims in Pamekasan City District. (Abd Aziz)

PAMEKASAN - Head of Water and River Resources Empowerment at the Pamekasan Regency Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Office, Agus Priambodo, said that his party needed flood detection technology to reduce the impact of flooding on residents in the event of a consignment flood.

"If we have an early detection tool for this flood, then at least we can anticipate it, so that the impact can also be suppressed," Agus said, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, March 2.

Agus explained, so far, monitoring of water debit in a number of river flows in Pamekasan Regency has been manually by special officers appointed by the Pamekasan Regency Government.

The obstacles faced so far are sometimes 'human errors' such as the slow delivery of information about the development of water debits, so that during floods, residents who usually live in affected areas cannot make anticipatory efforts.

"If we have this flood early detection tool, then information about the latest developments can be conveyed to disaster management officers in the city more quickly," he said.

Agus explained that his party had conveyed the importance of Pamekasan having an early warning system (EWS) to the team and the budget agency.

"This tool is not meant to prevent flooding, but to anticipate and reduce the risk of casualties or the impact of flooding," he said.

Indeed, Agus said, efforts to prevent urban flooding in Pamekasan should not only be done by installing early detection devices, but comprehensive efforts are needed, such as dredging river waterways, planting trees upstream of the river, and preventing the accumulation of garbage along the river.

"There must be an integrated effort between all elements, and all policy makers, and that takes a long time. So what is more likely to be done immediately in order to prevent the impact of flooding is to provide early detection tools first," he explained.

Moreover, continued Agus, the frequent flooding in Pamekasan City in the last two months was a flood sent from upstream due to overflowing river water debits.

Agus Priambodo explained that the flood disaster that occurred in Pamekasan on Tuesday (1/3) and as of Wednesday (2/3) had affected at least 6,329 families (KK).

Around 200 people were trapped by the flood, so joint officers continued to try to evacuate.

"If there is an early detection tool, at least the affected residents can be suppressed, and the number of residents trapped in the flood can also be reduced, because they can anticipate from the start," said Agus, explaining.