eavy rainfall in the past few days has caused two rivers in Riau's Rokan Hulu regency to overflow, flooding hundreds of houses in two districts.
As many as 327 families have been affected by the floods that hit Ujung Batu district and Rambah Samo district on Sunday, Rokan Hulu Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Aceng Herdiana said on Wednesday.
Ujung Batu has been badly hit by the floodwater, with 297 houses inundated.
"[The number comprises] 129 families in Ujung Batu sub-dustrict, 34 families in Pematang Tebih village, 81 families in Suka Damai village and 53 families in East Ujung Batu village," Aceng said.
In Rambah Samo district, as many as 30 houses in Lubuk Napal village have been inundated.
"The floodwater reached a depth of about 50 to 150 centimeters," Aceng added.
No casualties have been reported in the floods that also caused a bridge connecting two villages in Rambah Samo to collapse, while a nearby church was also inundated by floodwater.
"People, particularly those living near rivers, need to remain cautious as the areas are prone to flooding," he added.
Suka Damai village head Ali Rusda suspected the poor drainage system was one of the factors that caused the rivers to overflow.
"We have called on the regency to fix the drainage system several times, but to no avail," he said. "We have tried to fix it ourselves, but it is not enough [without help from the regency]." (ipa)
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