Central Kalimantan Declares Emergency over Floods as 5 Regencies Inundated

TEMPO.CO, Palangka Raya - Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran declared an emergency status for the next 15 days starting Wednesday, September 8, following severe floods in five regencies namely Katingan, East Kotawaringin, West Kotawaringin, Seruyan, and Lamandau.

Sugianto said flood victims were facing problems, including the lack of food, snacks for children, up to medicine. “We will open more public kitchens in flooded areas in collaboration with the National Police and the TNI (Indonesian Military)," he said after visiting a number of flooded areas in Katingan and Seruyan regencies, Wednesday.

He also promised to deploy more health workers. “ I have ordered the Director of Regional Hospital (RSUD) Doris Sylvanus and his 30 staffers to stand guard at the worst-hit areas in Katingan Regency,” Sugianto added.

Floods had hit several regions of Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan since the end of last month. The floods followed with high rainfall intensity thus led to overflows of two rivers.

A member of the disaster analysis team from the National Aeronautics and Space Institute (LAPAN), Erma Yulihastin, explained the formation of convection centers caused by wind anomalies in Kalimantan led to extreme rainfall.

Erma also revealed that high humidity in Kalimantan was due to the propagation of the Kelvin wave from the west meeting the Rossby wave from the east. The meeting of the two, she added, was the cause of the heavy floods in West Kalimantan on July 14, 2021.

Read: Flood Cuts Off Trans Kalimantan Road

KARANA WW (CONTRIBUTOR)