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Floodwaters rise in Rokan Hilir after days of heavy rain
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A boy rides his bicycle through flood waters and past inundated traditional houses in Pelayangan district, Jambi, on March 7. (Antara/Wahdi Septiawan)
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everal areas in Rokan Hilir regency in Riau have become inundated by floodwaters following heavy rain in the past week that caused moats and rivers to overflow.
“Based on our field monitoring, the flooding in residential areas has occurred in coastal areas. The floods have not entered the houses but the floodwaters have submerged the roads,” Rokan Hilir Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency official Azhar said on Tuesday.
Sungai Bakau village in Sinaboi district and Bangko village in West Bagan subdistrict, which are prone to flooding, are two of the worst affected areas.
Poor drainage, which is often clogged by garbage, has also worsened the situation. Azhar urged residents to regularly engage in joint activities to clean up their neighborhoods, including cleaning drainage.
The agency also recorded four other districts that are prone to flooding including Pekaitan, Tanah Putih, Bangko Pusako and Rantau Kopar.
“The district administrations must remain alert and coordinate [with us] if they need help at any time. Especially as there has been heavy rain over the past few days,” Azhar said.
Meanwhile, the information and data unit head at the the local office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Slamet Riyadi predicted that light to medium intensity rains would continue in Riau for the next few days.
The rain in Riau has also meant there are zero hotspots detected in the province, he said. The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 19 hotspots on Tuesday in Sumatra, spread throughout South Sumatra, Lampung, Bangka Belitung and Bengkulu provinces.
