Banten flood inundates thousands of homes; two dead

Continuous heavy rain in three regencies in Banten since Friday has caused floods and landslides that have inundated thousands of homes and left two people dead, the Banten Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) announced on Sunday.

Banten BPBD chief Suyadi Wiraatmadja said the three regencies most affected by the extreme weather were Serang, Pandeglang and Lebak. He said that the floodwaters in the three regencies varied in depth from 30 centimeters to five meters.

“There are two reported deaths. One, Anam bin Aman, was buried by a landslide in Lebak Gedong, another, named Jarbudi, 70 years old, went missing after being swept away in a flood,” he said on Sunday, as quoted by tempo.co.

He reported that 3,108 houses in Lebak had been flooded, while the total in Pandeglang reached 9,770 houses. Serang, meanwhile, saw 877 houses fall victim to the flooding.

“In total 13,755 houses in 97 villages and 29 sub-districts have been submerged by the flood,” he said.

He said that, at the moment, the provincial agency and the National Mitigation Agency (BNPB), assisted by the regency disaster mitigation agencies and administrations were responding to the emergency.

Personnel from the National Police and the Army were also on hand to help evacuate residents whose homes had been damaged by the flood and were no longer livable. (awd)