Flash Floods and Landslides Hit Malang, Thousands Affected

Liputan6.com, Malang - Rain with high intensity on Monday, 17 October 2022, caused eight sub-districts in Malang regency, East Java province of Indonesia to be affected by floods and landslides. As a result, more than a thousand households are directly affected.

Malang is located in the southern region of the province. Malang's neighboring region Blitar is also affected by flood.

On Tuesday (18/10/2022), Head of Emergency and Logistics of Malang Regional Disaster Management Authority (BPBD Malang), Sadono Irawan said that there were three disasters caused by that heavy rain: flash floods, overflow floods, and landslides.

Furthermore, Sadono Irawan mentioned that the disasters occurred in eight sub-districts located in South Malang. Those are Ampelgading, Tirtoyudo, Dampit, Sumbermanjing Wetan, Gedangan, Bantur, Pagak, and Donomulyo sub-district.

The landslides hit 15 villages located in Ampelgading, Dampit, Donomulyo, Sumbermanjing Wetan, and Tirtoyudo sub-district. 

The overflow floods affected eight villages located in Bantur, Gedangan, Sumbermanjing Wetan, Donomulyo, and Pagak sub-district.

Meanwhile, the flash floods hit Tirtoyudo and Ampelgading sub-district. More than 900 families have been affected by the floods.

BPBD Malang has established an emergency alert status for hydrometeorological disasters in the region, entering the rainy season which has the potential to cause disasters since October 1, 2022.

The basis for establishing that status is a circular issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB) regarding the potential for hydrometeorological disasters in Malang.

Head of BPBD Malang Fuad Fauzi said that of the 1.939 families affected by the disasters in Malang, 723 of them were in Lebakharjo Village, Ampelgading sub-district, Tuesday (18/10/2022).

Fuad mentioned in detail the number of families affected by the disasters.

In the Tirtoyudo sub-district, seven villages with 293 families were affected.

In the Dampit sub-district, one village with four families was affected.

In the Ampelgading sub-district, nine villages with 741 families were affected and most of them were in Lebakharjo village.

In the Donomulyo sub-district, one village with three families was affected.

In the Sumbermanjing Wetan sub-district, four villages with 682 families were affected.

While in Batur, Gedangan, and Pagak sub-district, four villages with 216 families were affected. 

Meanwhile, the National Electricity Company (PLN) conducted a temporary blackout of electricity supply in a number of disaster-affected areas in Malang on October 17, 2022. This power cut was an effort to maintain the safety of the residents.

The manager of PLN UP3 Malang Farqi Faris said that the electricity flow would return to normal when the water conditions recede and the situation is safe, as reported by Antara, Tuesday (18/10/2022).

Farqi said that the blackout was carried out in a number of villages, including Sitiarjo, Tambakrejo, Kedungbanteng, and Tambaksari village in the Sumbermanjing Wetan sub-district.

"This is done in order to maintain the safety of residents, PLN has cut off electricity at several distribution substations," he said.

According to him, PLN is also carrying out a series of handling efforts. Starting from data collection of materials affected by damage, data collection of substations affected by flooding, preparation of repair materials, to pole repair and construction work.

He added that of the 137 distribution substations that were affected, 129 of them had electricity again. While the rest are still being turned off because there are still a number of areas affected by flooding and the water has not receded.

He also appealed to the public to take a number of steps if they live in a flood-affected area, including turning off electricity from the Meter Circuit Breaker (MCB), unplugging all electrical equipment, and moving electronic devices to a safe place.

"If the electricity supply around the flooded area has not been turned off, we urge residents to immediately reach our contact center 123," he said.

Writer: Safinatun Nikmah