Antara, Jakarta – A flood triggered by incessant heavy rains over the last two days displaced hundreds of residents of Alue Ie Mirah Village, Indra Makmur Sub-district, East Aceh District, Aceh Province.
"Hundreds of Alue Ie Mirah inhabitants are taking refuge in 'meunasah' (Islamic traditional schools). The village has two evacuation points," Russamin, the Indra Makmur sub-district head, said on Sunday.
The heavy rains continued to fall on Sunday, causing flooding that submerged thousands of homes in eight villages in Indra Makmur, he said.
The flood waters reached a height of between 50 cm and one meter in Indra Makmur Sub-district.
"Currently, eight villages are flooded and thousands of people are affected. Among the affected villages are Alue Ie Mirah, Jamboe Lubok, North Julok Rayeuk, South Julok Rayeuk, Blang Nisam, Pelita Sagub Jaya, and Seneubok Cina," he said.
Russamin said the evacuation of the flood victims were conducted with the assistance of the East Aceh District authorities.
"We urge the people to not stay at home as the water level continues to increase. If the water rises, they should immediately take refuge in mosques, 'meunasah', or other places," he said.
Meanwhile, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) of East Aceh reported that flooding started to spread to several other sub-districts.
"Rains with high intensity have fallen since Friday causing floods that submerge houses and plantation areas as well as rice fields," Head of BPBD East Aceh Ashadi said.
Among the flood-stricken sub-districts were Julok, Darul Aman, Indra Makmur, and Ranto Peureulak, he noted.
"We hope that the 'keuchik' or village chiefs continue to monitor their areas closely because rain is still ongoing with light or heavy intensity," Ashadi said.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1565316/flood-displaces-hundreds-of-alue-le-mirah-residents-in-east-ace