Floods hit Pekanbaru, traffic disrupted

Floods inundated most parts of the Riau capital of Pekanbaru on Saturday following a heavy rain overnight.

Motorists were seen slowing down on the city’s thoroughfares Jl. HR Soebrantas, Jl. Tuanku Tambusai and Jl. Sudirman due to the inundation, disrupting the traffic. Several cars were trapped in a flooded road and stalled.

“This area is prone to flooding. It is always inundated although rain only falls for only a couple of hours,” Dina, a resident of Jl. HR Soebrantas, told Antara news agency.

Pekanbaru legislative council speaker Desmianto blamed the city’s poor drainage system for the repeated floods. He said the city council had asked the public works agency to cope with the problem.

Public works agency chief Dedi Gusriadi said the local government would build a dam to overcome the floods.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has predicted the rainy season will end in July.