East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa along with the Pamekasan district head inspected a number of flooded areas, refugee camps, and public kitchens in the district on Wednesday.
The refugee camps they visited included the ones at the deputy head of Pamekasan district’s official residence, Nasrul Ulum Islamic Boarding School, and Sumedangan village, an official said.
Meanwhile, the public kitchen was located at Patemon village, he added.
“Hopefully, the flood will subside in the near future, so the residents will be able to properly conduct their usual daily activities,” the governor said while visiting Sudemangan village.
The regional government has deployed two water pumps to drain the water from the settlements into the river, she informed.
In addition, an excavator has been put on standby to clean flood waste and dredge the river, she said.
Heavy rain since March 1, 2022, has caused the Kalikloang and Kalisemajid rivers to swell and overflow their banks, she noted. Hence, a number of main roads have been inundated and 6,329 families affected by the floods, she added.
The inundated areas include Jungcangcang, Parteker, Kolpajung, Petemon, Gladak Anyar, Kangenan, and Barurambat Kota villages in Pamekasan sub-district, she informed.
The flood has also affected Pademawu, Palenggaan, Proppo, and Galis sub-districts, she added.
She then lauded the Pamekasan district government for its response to the disaster.
The district government along with related parties, such as the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), BPBD volunteer forum, military, police, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), emergency response units (Tagana) immediately prepared public kitchens to provide meals to the affected people, she noted.
Furthermore, the governor has also reminded the people of East Java to remain alert for flooding and landslides since, according to information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the rainy season in the province will last until April–May.
Meanwhile, head of Pamekasan sub-district, Rahmat Suroso, informed that the public kitchens had been established at the halls of Pamekasan sub-district and the affected villages, thus the meal assistance could be disbursed to all people in need.
He noted that the number of affected people in Pamekasan sub-district was about 4,612 families or 10,371 people.
In addition, there were about 3,500 flood victims in Pademawu sub-district, he added.
Source: Antara News