Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Continuous heavy rainfall across parts of North Sumatra over the weekend caused a landslide in Deli Serdang regency and floods in Medan on Monday.

No casualties were reported from the incidents, but the landslide, which occurred in Sembahe village, temporarily disrupted traffic between Medan and Karo regency. The floods in Medan inundated more than a thousand houses in five villages.

The chief of Medan traffic police, Comr. Safwan Khayat, said the landslide in Sembahe took place at 2 a.m. Monday. Traffic was cut off until 6 a.m. because parts of the road were covered with mud and debris.

Safwan said in order to avoid congestion, police opened one of the road's two lanes for the benefit of motorists traveling to Medan to sell agricultural produce.

The road was opened for traffic coming from Medan at 8 a.m. after the number of vehicles coming the other way decreased. "The flow of traffic returned to normal at 11 a.m. after rubble from the landslide was cleared using heavy machinery," Safwan said.

The floods in Medan reached a height of up to 1.5 meters before the water started to subside Monday afternoon. In Medan Maimun district more than 1,250 houses were flooded when the Deli river burst its banks.

Syarifuddin Harahap, a resident of Aur village, said the river had been overflowing since Sunday. Water started to inundate residents' houses at 3 a.m. Monday.

Maimun Medan district chairman Arfan Harahap said houses were flooded in the Aur, Sukaraja, Jati, Sei Mati, Hamdan and Kampung Baru villages. "We've set up health centers and public kitchen facilities in the affected areas," Arfan said.

Meanwhile, the North Sumatra office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has urged people living in 15 regencies and cities in North Sumatra to be aware of the possibility of floods and landslides caused by heavy rainfall.

The regencies and cities at risk include Langkat, Pematang Siantar, Asahan, Toba Samosir, Labuhan Batu, Tapanuli Tengah and Sibolga.