Embankment of Demak's Wulan River breached again: official

Demak, C Java (ANTARA) - A government official in Demak District, Central Java, informed on Sunday that the embankment of Wulan River in Ketanjung Village, Karanganyar Subdistrict, was breached again.

The breach of the embankment might have occurred on Sunday around 02:20 a.m. local time. As a result, flooding again inundated certain areas in Demak, according to Darsono.

Before being breached, the river water level had risen significantly, said Darsono, the field coordinator for strengthening and heightening of Wulan River's embankment.

At midnight on Saturday (March 16), the river water level had almost reached the embankment's height after it was heightened and strengthened in the aftermath of the flooding on February 5, he added.

ANTARA reported earlier that in the second week of February 2024, residents in the subdistricts of Karanganyar, Karangawen, Kebonagung, Wonosalam, Karangtengah, Gajah, and Dempet of Demak District also experienced flash floods.

The leaked Wulan River embankment partly caused the flooding, inundating at least 4,000 houses and disrupting access to the main road connecting the districts of Demak and Kudus.  Authorities revealed that the rain caused two leakages in the embankment, each spanning 20 meters and 30 meters. On February 14, the government managed to plug the leaks.

To remove floodwater from residential areas, the government also provided more than 20 water-suctioning machines with a total capacity of pumping out 11,500 liters of water per second.

The government had repaired the leaked embankment, making it stronger than it was prior to the breach that left Demak district inundated, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

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Over the past three months since December 2023, several regions in Indonesia have experienced flash floods.

In Riau Province, for instance, Pelalawan District experienced a 20-year cycle of big floods from December 2023 to January 2024. The Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that Riau's flooding affected 131,834 residents and inundated 32,303 houses in six districts in the province.

The agency recorded 870 residents being displaced in Pelalawan District, 572 in Rokan Hilir District, 424 in Indragiri Hulu District, 88 in Dumai City, 72 in Bengkalis District, and 40 in Siak District.