Antara, Jakarta – Prolonged rainfall caused floods to inundate three districts in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Acting Regent of West Lombok, Ilham, stated that the overflowing river has submerged hundreds of houses in the districts of Labuapi, Kediri, and Gerung.
"These floods occurred simultaneously," he said while inspecting the evacuation site at the Office of Labuapi District Chief, West Lombok, on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, as quoted from Antara.
According to Ilham, rescuers are still tallying the number of affected residents, but initial data shows around 340 households in Labuapi, 250 in Bajur Village, 40 in Kuranji, and another 50 in Karang Bongkot village have been affected by the floods.
The West Lombok government will open a shelter at the Office of Labuapi District Chief for the next five days, considering the ongoing risk of extreme weather due to the potential of tropical cyclones and La Nina. The shelter will also serve as the distribution center for aid to flood-affected residents.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) previously reported the chance for rainfall exceeding 50 millimeters in some areas of West Nusa Tenggara from February 11 to 20, 2025.
The condition means the high level of rainfall persists in the area, with the chance of rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters per ten days with a probability of 10-60 percent in the same province.
BMKG continues to monitor the movement of tropical cyclone seeds that have affected weather conditions in Indonesia lately. Referring to the official statement released by BMKG at 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday, February 10, 2025, there are three active cyclone phenomena around Indonesia.
Tropical Cyclone Taliah, referring to the information, was observed in the Indian Ocean. Its center point is 1,580 kilometers southwest of Bengkulu. This cyclone has a maximum wind speed of 35 knots or 65 kilometers per hour, with a minimum air pressure of 995 hectopascals (hPa). BMKG also observed tropical cyclone seed 93W in the South China Sea, but the potential for growth of this cyclone seed is relatively small.
The main focus is on the potential tropical cyclone 96S detected south of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), or in the Indian Ocean west of Western Australia. This cyclone seed is likely to develop into a moderate to high tropical cyclone.