The Ministry Of PUPR Is Starting To Collapse The Oesao Dam In Kupang

The Ministry of PUPR has started to deal with the damage to the Oesao Dam in the Noelmina River area, Kupang Regency. Photo: Doc. Ministry of PUPR

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is handling the damage to the Oesao Dam in the Noelmina River area, Kupang Regency, which happened some time ago.

Expert Staff to the Minister of PUPR for Technology, Industry and Environment as well as Spokesperson for the Ministry of PUPR Endra S. Atmawidjaja said the PUPR Ministry had sent a survey team to the disaster site to collect data on irrigation infrastructure that was damaged by large river discharges.

"The team from the Nusa Tenggara II River Basin Center (BWS) of the Ministry of PUPR has also prepared flood materials in the form of gabions, geobags and heavy excavator equipment if needed for the Oesao River and other rivers," said Endra in a written statement, Monday, February 6.

Endra said that the flood material preparation was carried out to anticipate the estimates of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) which stated the potential for flood disasters due to extreme weather until February 9, 2023.

From the survey data in the field, it is known that there was damage to the right and left sides of the broken Oesao Dam, including the Olak Pond, which was also damaged. "The bridge and left right wing of the dam were damaged, 42 meters to the right and 30 meters to the left, respectively," said Endra.

Based on records from the Naibonat Rainfall Post Station on February 4, 2023, the rainfall reached 95 mm/day, so that the water level above the Dam Mercu exceeded or above 0.3 m on February 4, at around 14.00 WITA.

BWS Nusa Tenggara II Ministry of PUPR will continue to monitor developments in the field to immediately make disaster reporting to the Disaster Center Command Post of the Director General of Natural Resources of the Ministry of PUPR.

Previously, continuous high-intensity rain had occurred from February 3 to February 4. As a result of the rain, several water resource infrastructures (SDAs) were damaged, one of which was the Oesao Dam in the Noelmina River area, Kupang Regency.