At least seven people are dead in East Java and two in West Kalimantan after several parts of archipelago were hit by heavy rainfall and flooding in recent days resulting from the La Niña weather phenomenon.

In Batu city near Malang, East Java, heavy rains caused flash floods in six villages on Thursday, displacing at least 89 families, killing 7 people, damaging 35 houses and submerging 33 houses in mud as of Saturday, according to the Batu Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said on Sunday that the agency had found that the banks of six rivers in Batu had lost some of the dense vegetation that protected soil from erosion during heavy rain. This, he said, made the areas more prone to flash flooding.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Nur Janti and A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post)

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