Floods have hit eight villages in Southwest Papua Province, an Indonesian province. As a result, eight villages were inundated with floodwater as high as two meters.

The eight flooded villages are located in low-lying areas and have depressions. The flood was triggered by heavy rainfall since Friday (8/3/2024) at around 4 a.m. local time.

The eight villages inundated by the flood were Kladufu Village, Klabulu Village, Klasabi Village, Sawagumu Village, Matalamagi Village, Klawuyuk Village, Remu Village, and Klasaman Village. Not only that, this flood also submerged a number of main roads in Sorong City, the capital of Southwest Papua Province.

As a result, hundreds of houses were damaged. Not only that, the activities of the population were completely paralyzed due to the natural disaster.

On a number of main roads in the city, a number of two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles that tried to break through the flood resulted in their vehicles experiencing engine failure and some of them were damaged.

As a result of this flood disaster, several main roads experienced severe congestion as far as 2 kilometers.
The Sorong City Police, assisted by the West Papua Regional Water and Air Police, deployed rubber boats to evacuate residents who were trapped in the flood. A number of elderly people, children and women were finally rescued to a safe place. Traffic police also tried to regulate a number of vehicles that were desperate to break through the flood.

One local resident, Fearly Tahapary, admitted that he had to struggle through the flood and was successfully rescued by the police. Using an inflatable boat, the police managed to evacuate Fearly and other residents to a safe place.

"I live in Sorong Regency. I was about to pass through this route, but I got stuck in the flood. I left the car I was using in a safe place, then I was helped by the police using a rubber boat to cross this flood," said Fearly.

Fearly hopes that the Government, starting from the Acting Mayor of Sorong, to the Acting Governor, can immediately seriously deal with the natural disaster of flooding in the city.

"So I ask Mr. Mayor and Mr. Governor to pay attention to this flood problem," said Fearly.

Meanwhile, one of the four-wheeled vehicle drivers named Kahar admitted that he was stuck in a long traffic jam for about four hours. He and his family could not cross the highway because it was blocked by the flood.

"My wife and I were stuck in a severe traffic jam for about four hours. We had difficulty passing through the main road because all roads were flooded," said Kahar.

Flooding in Sorong City, the capital of Southwest Papua Province, is a frequent occurrence. Urban planning problems and the government's lack of attention in normalizing rivers are the main problems to overcome the cause of flooding in the region.

Not only that, the lack of awareness of the people who build settlements in water absorption locations and public awareness in disposing of garbage out of place is one of the reasons why the region is often hit by natural disasters such as floods.

According to data from the Regional Disaster Management Agency, Sorong City. The floods that hit the region were not only due to high rain intensity but also triggered by the overflow of sea water and rivers in the region.