74 Houses In Langkat, North Sumatra Damaged By Strong Winds

The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Langkat Regency noted that as many as 74 houses were damaged by heavy rain accompanied by strong winds in Langkat, North Sumatra, Wednesday, May 11./DOK Humas BNPB

JAKARTA - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Langkat Regency noted that as many as 74 houses were damaged due to heavy rains accompanied by strong winds in Langkat, North Sumatra, Wednesday, May 11.

"A total of 21 houses were heavily damaged, 21 houses were moderately damaged and 32 houses were slightly damaged," said Acting Head of the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) Disaster Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari in his statement, Thursday, May 12.

The damaged houses were spread over three sub-districts, namely Padang Bone District (Tebing Tanjung Selamat and Tanjung Putus Villages), Wampu District (Mekar Jaya Village, Bingei Village) and Hinai District (Tanjung Beringin Plantation Village and Paya Rengas).

In addition to the damage to houses, visual monitoring in the field also shows that there are several fallen trees that cover the transportation access for local residents.

Abdul Muhari said that the Langkat Regency BPBD carried out further assessments in affected locations and established a disaster alert post to support meeting the needs of affected residents.

"The BPBD and joint teams are also preparing efforts to clean up house debris and coordinate with local agencies to support the acceleration of reconstruction of residents' houses," he said.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issues daily weather forecasts for North Sumatra Province, dominated by cloudy, heavy cloudy and light rain on May 12, 2022 and sunny, sunny cloudy and light rain on May 13, 2022.

The inaRisk study also shows that Langkat Regency has the potential for extreme weather hazards at moderate to high levels.

Therefore, Abdul Muhari BNPB appealed to the public and local governments to increase awareness and preparedness for potential hydrometeorological disasters, especially extreme weather, especially with the transition of seasons (from rainy season to summer or vice versa) which can cause strong winds or tornadoes.

"Local regional officials can cut branches, twigs and thick tree material to minimize the potential for fallen trees and provide early warning information to local residents regarding rainfall if it has been pouring over the area for more than an hour to be able to immediately carry out emergency and evacuation efforts if needed," he added.