2021 Central Kalimantan floods

A series of severe floods affected the province of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia on early September 2021.[1][2] The floods have affected 11 regencies and cities in the province, and as of 10 September six have declared a state of emergency.[3] The Central Kalimantan government also declared a 15-day state of emergency starting on 8 September.[4] Katingan Regency has been particularly affected by the floods.[5]

2021 Central Kalimantan floods
Flood in Katingan Regency, Central Kalimantan
DateSeptember 2021
LocationCentral Kalimantan
Deaths2 (indirectly from electric shock)

Road connections were cut off by the floods, and electricity was deliberately shut off by Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the state-owned electric company, to avoid civilian casualties from electric shock.[6][7] Around 25,000 people have been affected by the floods and two died in Katingan Regency from electric shock.[8] The floods are considered to be much worse than usual yearly flooding caused by overflow of Kapuas River, as well as longer in duration.[9] Due to most roads being flooded, many people have used boats and rafts to travel around or transport their cars and motorcycles, causing demand for boat taxi service to rise. As the result, price of picking a boat taxi rise up to between Rp 100,000,- to Rp 300,000,-, far above its usual price.[10][11] Katingan Regency Resort Police has urged owners of boats to avoid setting prices too high during the floods.[12][10] Prices of groceries such as chicken meat, fish, and vegetables rose in Sampit due to isolation caused by roads being cut off by the flood.[13] Road between city of Palangka Raya and town of Buntok in South Barito Regency were also cut off, trapping many cars and trucks.[14]

The flood also began to affect the city of Palangka Raya, particularly in Jekan Raya and Pahandut district.[15][16] The flood hampered daily economic activities in the city, resulting in many stores owned by city residents to be closed. Several have taken refuge in Panarung subdistrict.[16] On 10 September, the mayor of the city declared a state of emergency.[17] Due to continuous high-intensity rain and overflow of Kahayan River, some city residents that refused to take refuge started to contract illness. As the result, city government has to set up free emergency healthcare posts.[18] Floods in the city is reportedly to be as deep as one meter. It also caused clean water crisis as parts of city's electricity has been cut off, making electric pumps which most of city's residents relied on could not be used.[19]

A house affected by floods in Katingan Regency

The Indonesian government with National Board for Disaster Management had begun distributing aids and evacuating people in the affected regions.[20][21][22] Many environmentalist organizations and activists cited environmental destruction and deforestation in the province as the main cause of the flood.[23][24] Governor of Central Kalimantan Sugianto Sabran said the cause of the flood was logging from designated industrial forest areas in his province.[25]

The South Kalimantan government dispatched personnel to assist affected regions as a sign of solidarity, as many people of Central Kalimantan helped and donated to victims of 2021 South Kalimantan floods in early February.[26]

On 16 September, Ministry of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini visited the city and affected regions. During her visit on several public kitchens, she received complaints that they have not yet received aid from Minister of Social Affairs. She stated soon they will begun distributing aid to affected families.[27][28]

References

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  1. ^ "Flood hits Central Kalimantan in Indonesia". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  2. ^ "Floods submerge thousands of houses in Indonesia's Kalimantan". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  3. ^ Muhammad Arif Hidayat. "Enam kabupaten di Kalteng tetapkan status tanggap darurat bencana banjir". Antara News Kalteng. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  4. ^ "Central Kalimantan Declares Emergency over Floods as 5 Regencies Inundated". Archived from the original on 2021-09-09.
  5. ^ WW, Karana; Prima, Erwin (8 September 2021). "Gubernur Kalteng: 11 Kabupaten Terdampak Banjir, Katingan Paling Parah". Tempo (in Indonesian).
  6. ^ antaranews.com (2021-09-09). "PLN putus aliran listrik di wilayah Kalteng terdampak banjir". Antara News. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  7. ^ Antara. "11 Kabupaten/Kota di Kalteng Banjir, 6 Daerah Tetapkan Darurat Bencana". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  8. ^ "Banjir Katingan Telan Korban Jiwa, 2 Warga Tewas Tersengat Listrik". Kalteng Today. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  9. ^ "Banjir di Kotim lebih parah dibanding tahun lalu". Antara News Kalteng (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  10. ^ a b "Tarif Angkutan Perahu Klotok Rp. 300 Ribu, Kapolres Katingan: Jangan Beratkan Warga!". Kalteng Today. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  11. ^ "Banjir Kalteng, Warga Terpaksa Gunakan Jasa Perahu untuk Menyeberang Biayanya Rp 100 Ribu". KOMPAS.tv (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  12. ^ "Tarif Angkutan Perahu di Lokasi Banjir Katingan Capai Rp 120 per Orang". Kalteng Today. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  13. ^ "Dampak Banjir Mempengaruhi Harga Lauk Pauk di Kotim". Mata Kalteng (in Indonesian). 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  14. ^ "Banjir Kalteng, Jalur Palangkaraya-Buntok Ditutup, Mobil dan Truk Terjebak di Jalan Rusak". Banjarmasinpost.co.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  15. ^ "InfoPublik - Banjir Mulai Menggenangi Pemukiman Warga Pahandut Seberang". infopublik.id. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  16. ^ a b Lesmana, Haris. "Banjir Bergeser Ke Palangka Raya | Tabengan Online" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  17. ^ "Wali Kota Palangka Raya Tetapkan Status Tanggap Darurat Banjir". www.borneonews.co.id. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  18. ^ "VIDEO: Banjir Meluas ke Sebelas Kelurahan di Palangkaraya, Warga Mulai Terserang Penyakit - SINDOnews Video". SINDOnews.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  19. ^ "Video Banjir Meluas ke 11 Kelurahan di Palangkaraya, Warga Mulai Terserang Penyakit". iNews.ID (in Indonesian). 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  20. ^ Febriyana, Wahyu. "Gubernur Kalteng : Bantuan Untuk Masyarakat Segera Disalurkan". mmckalteng (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  21. ^ prokal.co. "12 Kabupaten Kota di Kalteng Banjir, Begini Upaya Pemprov Kalteng Atasi Banjir Menahun di Kalteng | Radar Sampit". sampit.prokal.co (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  22. ^ "Banjir Kalteng, Dinas PUPR Kalteng Bangun Posko di Katingan dan Kotim - Borneo24.com". Borneo24.com - Berita Terbaru dan Terkini di Kalimantan (in Indonesian). 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  23. ^ "Green Peace Bilang, Banjir Kalteng karena Kerusakan Alam yang Parah". Pro Kalteng (in Indonesian). 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  24. ^ Sutiawan, Iwan (9 September 2021). "PP KMHDI Sebut Banjir Kalteng Akibat Deforetasi". Gatra.com. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  25. ^ TV, Metro, Penebangan Hutan Dituding Jadi Penyebab Banjir di Kalteng (in Indonesian), retrieved 2021-09-10
  26. ^ Media, Kompas Cyber (2021-09-09). "Banjir Besar Landa Kalteng, BPBD Kalsel Kerahkan Personil Bantu Penanganan Banjir Halaman all". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  27. ^ "Banjir Kalteng, Para Ibu Rumah Tangga di Palangkaraya Mengadu Tak Dapat Bantuan ke Mensos". Banjarmasinpost.co.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  28. ^ Febriyana, Wahyu. "Mensos : Perlu Strategi dan Sinergitas Dalam Penanganan Banjir". mmckalteng (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-09-16.