Floods Hit The Inland Area Of East Warigin City, Here's The Current Condition

The house of a resident of Sungai Puring Village, Antang Kalang District, East Kotawaringin, was flooded, Photo taken Thursday, July 15. (Antara Doc)

SAMPIT - Floods hit Antang Kalang sub-district which is an inland area of East Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan. The water level varies, in some villages submerging the houses of local residents.

"All of these flood-stricken villages are along the Kalang River. The village most affected by the flood is Sungai Puring Village because the area is low," said Acting Camat Antang Kalang Watmin when contacted by Antara from Sampit, Thursday, July 15 evening.

Antang Kalang District is located in the north or upstream area with a travel time from Sampit of about 4 hours. Of the 15 villages in this sub-district, there are 11 villages whose access relies on river routes due to limited road infrastructure.

Riverside

Some residents live around watersheds. This condition, according to him, is quite vulnerable because once the river water overflows, the houses can be flooded.

Watmin has just received reports of flooding from four villages. The report received in the form of photos, has not been accompanied by data on the number of houses submerged and residents affected by the flood.

In addition to infrastructure constraints, the limited reach of the telecommunications network is also an obstacle in this sub-district. However, he has asked all village heads to record conditions in their respective villages and report them immediately.

Currently, he continued, there are four village heads who reported flooding in their village, namely Tumbang Gagu Village, Tumbang Ramei, Sungai Puring, and Tumbang Kalang.

However, Watmin admitted that he was still waiting for detailed reports from the four villages, as well as other villages that might also be hit by floods.

Floods in Tumbang Gagu Village have occurred since Tuesday, July 13 last night. Based on the report of the village head of Tumbang Gagu Timbang, the flood occurred one day and one night. Currently, the flood is receding.

Today a photo report was submitted from the Tumbang Ramei Village which was submerged by the flood. Many residents' houses were submerged because the position of this village is quite low and close to the river.

Flood reports were also received from Sungai Puring Village. From the photo received, the flooding in this village is quite severe because the water is very deep and it is estimated that many residents have to evacuate.

At some points, the flood almost reached the roofs of residents' houses. In fact, the Sungai Puring Village office did not escape the severe flooding.

Another flood report was received from Tumbang Kalang Village. Some of the village areas, which are in the center of the Antang Kalang sub-district, were submerged due to flooding from the upstream area of the Kalang River.

Responding to this condition, Watmin immediately asked all village officials to increase their awareness of more severe flooding.

For villages hit by floods, they are asked to immediately record the number of families and houses affected by the flood, as well as the development of flood conditions. "For villages along the river, if the community is flooded, the village government should make a letter regarding how many days the flood occurred and how many families were affected. Attach a photo of the flood location as a basis for the sub-district to report to the district," said Watmin.