TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin symbolically handed over aid from the Indonesian President and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) for flood victims at the Karangligar village head office in Karawang district, West Java, on Saturday.

The aid comprised basic necessities, 600 packs of fast food, 300 packs of child food, 300 blankets, 300 mats, and 50 baby care kits, worth Rp252,764,600.

The aid also included 300,000 masks, 10 thousand antigen rapid test kits, five thousand sarongs, and 1,200 mattresses.

In his address, the Vice President said he and the President were concerned about the flood that had swamped the district and called for joint efforts to prevent floods in future.

He further said he will ask the Public Works and People's Housing Ministry and other ministries to respond to the Karawang district head's request to build a dam and normalize rivers in the area.

Floodwaters swamped more than 5,300 homes in Karawang district, West Java, on Tuesday (February 8, 2021), forcing 3,396 people to flee to drier ground, according to data provided by the Karawang district military command's task force.

The affected homes were located in 30 villages in 17 sub-districts, it stated.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries in the flood, which followed heavy rainfall over few days.

While visiting two flood-stricken areas on Tuesday, Karawang district head Cellica Nurrachadiana had appealed to all sides to provide aid to flood evacuees soon.

He said many flood evacuees were hoping for immediate assistance in the form of blankets, food, and baby kits.

“We also assure that their daily needs will be met, particularly nutrition intake. We will also try to build another public kitchen. The command post is ready to collaborate with military and police personnel (to handle the impact of the flood),” he stated.

Also Read: Floods Submerge Hundreds of Houses in Karawang

ANTARA