Floods swamp residential areas in Bekasi
Source: ANTARA News
Date: 25 October 2020
Flood waters reaching a height of up to 1.9 meters swamped several residential areas located on river banks connecting Cileungsi and Cikeas rivers, Bekasi City, West Java, on Sunday morning.
"Some of the affected houses have an average water level of above one meter. The highest is at Villa Jatirasa housing complex, at a height of 190 centimeters," Hendra, Head of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Section of the Bekasi City Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), said on Sunday morning.
The flooding was triggered by incessant heavy rains in Bogor, West Java, on Saturday (24/11).
The water level at the meeting point of the Cileungsi and Cikeas rivers was above normal, reaching 715 centimeters on early Sunday.
The Cikeas and Cileungsi River routes, which originate in Bogor, cross the city of Bekasi and meet in one lane of the Bekasi River.
Among the housing areas that were affected by the flooding on early Sunday were Villa Nusa Indah, Kemang Ifi, Pondok Mitra Lestari, Pondok Gede Permai, Villa Jatirasa, and other settlements located along the river route. The flood waters reached a height of between 40 centimeters and 190 centimeters.
Meanwhile, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that La Nina natural phenomenon is currently developing until the end of this year, and its impact, notably rainfall, with high precipitation, will peak in January and February and gradually end in March and April 2021.
La Nina, known for causing torrential downpours and widespread flooding across the country, is expected to increase rainfall by nearly 40 percent throughout the country.
The agency projected that 27.5 percent of Indonesia's territory will experience above-normal rainfall at the end of 2020 or during the rainy season. The regions include Lampung, South Sumatra, West Sumatra, parts of Bengkulu, Riau, and parts of North Sumatra and Aceh.
BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati noted that during the October-November 2020 period, La Nina would affect nearly all parts of Indonesia.
