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Floods force relocation of 2,000 Surakarta residents
Heavy rains that showered Surakarta, Central Java, from Saturday afternoon through to early Sunday have caused floods that are 50 to 100 centimeters deep in several areas across the city.
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To safer places – Residents of Joyotakan in Serengan, Surakarta, Central Java, are relocated to safer places using rubber boats on Sunday. (thejakartapost.com/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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eavy rains that showered Surakarta, Central Java, from Saturday afternoon through to early Sunday have caused floods that are 50 to 100 centimeters deep in several areas across the city. The flooding, to which the overflowing Bengawan Solo River contributed, has inundated hundreds of houses, forcing more than 2,000 people to take refuge elsewhere.
Three districts, namely Jebres, Pasar Kliwon and Serengan, are the most affected by the flooding and within them the hardest hit areas are Pucangsawit, Sewu, Sangkrah, Semanggi, Kedunglumbu, Joyontakan, Gandekan, and Gulon.
The floodwaters reportedly began to inundate residential neighborhoods at around 8 a.m. local time on Saturday, after which the water levels continued to rise until Sunday afternoon, forcing more residents to relocate. Search and Rescue Agency (SAR) teams were dispatched to assist the residents, especially women, children and the elderly, using rubber boats.
“We’re worried that the floodwater will not yet recede tomorrow [Monday] so it would be better for us to relocate,” said Rubiyah, 55, a Joyotakan resident.
On Sunday evening, hundreds of Joyotakan residents still packed evacuation posts on river dikes and sidewalks and in schoolyards.
Volunteers from the Surakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the city’s Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) have set up evacuation tents and dispatched public kitchen vehicles.
“We dispatched the vehicles to several flooded locations. We don’t erect public kitchen tents anymore to serve food to refugees. It’s much more efficient and effective to use public kitchen vehicles to provide the services,” said Surakarta Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo when he visited flooded areas in Joyotakan.
PMI Surakarta secretary Sumartono Hadinoto said the humanitarian aid agency had sent food supplies to the flood victims. He said it was predicted the number of evacuees would continue to increase as many residents were still trapped in their houses. The floods also hit Solo Baru, an elite residential neighborhood in Surakarta. (ebf)
