The villages are located downstream of Kampar River.

Kampar district head Joni Syafrin said the water release at the PLTA on April 4 at around 8 p.m. local time, swamped the only access to Pulau Sarak village.

The next morning, water engulfed almost the entire village, in some places at a depth of an adult’s waist.

On Tuesday morning, the spillover rushed down to two neighboring villages, Padang Mutung and Pulau Baru.

“The three villages are located on lower ground so they are prone to flooding when Kampar River overflows,” Joni said.

The floods have disrupted activity and schooling, although sixth graders are required to attend because they are currently taking part in exam trials before next month’s National Exam.

With land inundated — between 60 cm and 1 meter high — people are using boats and rafts to travel between the three villages.

Around 350 houses, dozens of livestock and hundreds of hectares of rice fields and rubber farms have been affected by the floods.

“Around 11,600 people have suffered losses due to the floods and some evacuees have temporarily relocated, staying with relatives,” he said.

Former Pulau Sarak village chief Edi Kurnia said the current floods were unexpected because the PLTA usually released water once a year.

“This is the second time we have been affected by floods this year,” he said.

Riau Islands PLN state power company spokesman Suwandi Siregar said the Kota Panjang PLTA had to open its spillway because a large amount of water from upstream areas had caused the dam level to exceed its maximum level of 85 meters above sea level.

“The water volume in the dam must be maintained. If the PLTA had not opened the sluice gates, the dam water might have burst uncontrollably and caused an even bigger disaster.

“Residents should understand that this is not what PLN wants, but it was our only option,” he said.

Suwandi denied suggestions that the flooding of the three villages was due to water being released simultaneously from the dam.

He said the PLTA always released water in stages to prevent flooding downstream.

“It cannot be denied that the water discharge has caused the Kampar River level to rise,” said
Suwandi.

“It is not the only cause of the flooding, however, because unexpectedly rainfall around the Kampar River basin was quite high.

“The presence of the reservoir is beneficial to residents because flooding would be greater without the dam.

“Damage can be minimized because the PLTA always notifies residents three hours before it opens the sluice gates,” he added.

Around 350 houses, dozens of livestock and hundreds of hectares of rice fields and rubber farms have been affected by the floods.

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