Flash Floods Hit Residential Areas in Semarang

TEMPO.CO, Semarang - Flash floods inundated Meteseh areas of Tembalang District, Semarang City on Friday afternoon, January 6, 2023. One of the affected residential areas was Dinar Indah Housing Complex. 

As shown in the video that went viral on social media, the water level almost reached the roof of the houses and residents were struggling to save themselves.

Semarang Regional Secretary Iswar Aminuddin confirmed the disaster and said it was caused by the overflow of Pengkol River. "The embankment on the Pengkol River burst," Iswar said via a text message to Tempo on Friday, January 6, 2023.

Residents were forced to flee as the water rapidly rose. Some of them climbed their roofs and waited to be evacuated. They did not dare to jump into the floodwater because the rain was still falling.

Officers from the Central Java Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) were on standby at the flood site to evacuate residents. "We are still monitoring and focusing on the safety of residents," said the Central Java BPBD Head Bergas C. Penanggungan.

Bergas could not yet confirm the number of residents affected by the flood, including those waiting to be evacuated. "Data is still being collected," he said. 

Over the past week, floods have submerged the city of Semarang. On December 31, 2022, almost the entire capital city of Central Java was inundated. The flood on Jalan Kaligawe just receded yesterday, and now, Metesen areas were submerged due to river overflow.

JAMAL ABDUN NASHR

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