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View all search resultsRiau ready to evacuate residents from flooding areas after fighting forest fires
Earlier in the year, BPBDs across Riau were fighting forest fires because of a forecasted long dry season but high rainfall in the past few days has swept most of forest and land fires and caused flooding, instead.
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People walk through a flood on Nov. 15, 2025, in Rokan Hulu regency in Riau. (Courtesy of BPBD Rokan Hulu/File)
D
rastic weather changes in the past few days have forced Regional Disaster Mitigation Agencies (BPBDs) in Riau to switch from fire extinguishers to dinghies to evacuate residents trapped by floods.
Earlier in the year, BPBDs across Riau were fighting forest fires because of a forecasted long dry season, but high rainfall in the past few days has swept most forest and land fires and instead caused floodings in dozens of villages and subdistricts in three regencies.
In Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) regency, the Kuantan River overflowed and inundated 15 villages in Pangean, Kuantan Hilir Seberang, Kuantan Hilir and Inuman districts since Friday.
Based on Kuansing BPBD’s record, there are 526 houses being inundated by water with a height of 10 to 30 centimeters.
Executive director of Kuansing BPBD Yulizar said the worst floodings took place in Inuman, where 263 houses were inundated in the villages of Pulau Busuk, Pulau Sipan, Seberang Pulau Busuk and Pulau Busuk Jaya.
“In addition to houses, several public facilities such as musholla [prayer hut], schools public health centers [Puskesmas] and village offices are also inundated, disrupting activities in several villages,” he said on Sunday.
He said the high rainfall was caused by high rain intensity in the Kuantan River’s upstream area in the neighboring province of West Sumatra in the past few days.
