TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has started focusing on conducting measures for rehabilitating flood-hit areas in Demak, Central Java Province, Indonesia in the aftermath of floods caused by a breached river embankment.

In a statement received from BNPB in Jakarta on Sunday, Head of the agency's Operations Control Center Bambang Surya Putra informed that most of the flood-affected regions had seen subsiding inundation, allowing refugees to return to their homes.

"According to the Demak Disaster Mitigation Agency, inundation has begun to subside in 98 percent of the affected areas. Hence, we need to start focusing on identifying ways to rehabilitate the areas in order to minimize the risks of future floods," he stated.

He said that the BNPB is ready to assist local residents in rehabilitating their neighborhood areas by cleaning houses and streets from mud and trash brought by the floodwaters as well as unclogging drainage canals.

Putra then emphasized the need to support residents to independently clean their houses, saying that the BNPB had planned on providing locals with assistance in the form of cleaning tools and equipment as well as disinfectant sprays.

"It is necessary to support the people's self-reliance efforts. To that end, we will also provide water pump machines to ensure adequate supply of clean water. Such a measure is vital in this emergency situation," he said.

He further underscored that the government would continue to carry out emergency measures, including conducting weather engineering to reduce and redistribute rainfall in upstream areas to mitigate floods.

All of the measures taken would hopefully help affected residents to return to their normal lives, he added.

ANTARA

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