The cyclone, currently located 550 kilometers from eastern Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, may cause heavy rain, strong winds and high tides in eastern parts of the country, the BMKG’s latest report says.

“The cyclone is moving toward Indonesia [from the Timor Sea], but we predict that it will be weakening,” BMKG weather forecast division head Agie Wandala told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The cyclone, with a current wind speed of 35 knots, will see a decrease in speed to 30 knots on Saturday afternoon, when it is located 265 km from eastern Kupang, the BMKG has estimated.

The storm earlier hit villages in southwest Maluku. Water as deep as 1.5 meters on average reportedly inundated three villages in three separate districts in the province: Laitutun village in Letti Island district, Tounwawan in Moa Lakor and Luang Timur in Mdona Hiera.

No casualties have been reported, but scores of houses and a number of public facilities were damaged.

“The tropical cyclone has hit the region since Monday, and was at its peak on Wednesday at 9 p.m. local time. High waves discouraged fishermen from sailing,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the floodwater had receded and was at a depth of up to 50 centimeters.

Despite the potential weakening, Agie said that residents should stay alert as some regions would continue to see the impacts of the cyclone.

According to the BMKG, the cyclone has the potential to cause heavy rain and strong winds in Maluku and Timor Leste.

High tides of up to 4 m may occur in the Bali, Lombok and Alas straits, as well as in the waters of Sumba and Sawu islands, the central Arafuru and Sawu seas and the Indian Ocean alongside southern East Java and East Nusa Tenggara.

Higher tides of up to 6 m may also occur in the waters of southern Kupang and Rote Island as well as Sermata Islands, and the western Arafuru and Timor seas.

However, the authorities have yet to record damages in the country’s inland, aside from Maluku.

As of Thursday afternoon, the BNPB reported that floods had hit Southwest Maluku’s capital of Tiakur, inundating 28 houses and forcing dozens of people to take refuge.

Ninety-seven houses in Tounwawan village, Moa subdistrict, were also inundated by floodwater, forcing at least 97 families to leave their homes. It was reported that road access to the area had been cut off by the flooding.

The agency had yet to receive any reports from Lakor Island because communication had been severed.

No casualties have been reported so far, but authorities are still trying to reach isolated villages and calculating losses caused by the disaster.

“We call on residents in the affected areas to stay alert amid the extreme weather. We suggest that fishermen refrain from sailing as high tides may occur,” Sutopo said. (ars)

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