Tens of Thousands of Residents Displaced Due to Demak Floods,

Embankment Repairs Accelerated

A total of 20,772 residents were displaced due to the Demak floods. Repairs to broken river
embankments are being accelerated to deal with flooding.
DEMAK, KOMPAS - More than 20,000 residents have been displaced due to the recent flooding in
Demak Regency, Central Java. In an effort to mitigate the effects of the flood, the government is
pushing for repairs to the river levees that have broken at dozens of locations, and deploying water
pumps to drain the water from the affected areas.

Until Monday (12/2/2024), the flood that struck several areas in Demak has not completely receded.
There are several villages in the Karanganyar and Gajah Subdistricts that are still submerged in water,
with a height of up to 4 meters.

"More than 84,000 people have been affected by the floods in Demak. Of that number, 20,772 have
been forced to evacuate to 59 shelter points," said Head of Emergency Response Division of the
Central Java Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Muhamad Chomsul, on Monday in Demak."

In addition to flooding settlements, the flood also cut off access to the Pantura Highway from Demak
to Kudus Regency, Central Java, and vice versa. The route has been completely paralyzed due to
flooding with a height of about 2 meters that has not yet receded. Based on observations, dozens of
vehicles were trapped in the middle of the flood until Monday afternoon.

Floods in Demak also claimed lives. As of Monday, there were four fatalities. One person died after
being swept away by flood waters after slipping from the second floor of their home, one person
died after falling off a motorcycle at the flood site, one toddler died after falling into a flood puddle,
and one person died after being electrocuted during the flood.

Nurkan (57), a resident of Ketanjung Village, Karanganyar District, stated that the flood that occurred
this year was the most severe in his lifetime. According to him, floods regularly hit his area, at least
once a year.

"If it's the yearly one, the water height is only up to 30 centimeters (cm). Meanwhile, if it's the big
flood, it occurs once every ten years. (The water height) can reach up to 1 meter at most. But in this
current flood, the water height reached up to 4 meters. The top of a two-story house is not even
visible," he said.

Nurkan and approximately 400 other residents live around the Sungai Wulan embankment, which
broke on Thursday (8/2/2024). The distance between their houses and the river embankment is
about 200 meters. Nurkan said that the critical condition of the river embankment had been
observed for at least the past ten years. The embankment often experiences landslides, and the river
water sometimes seeps through.

Nurkan stated that the residents have repeatedly reported the condition to the local government.
However, there has been no response or efforts made by the government to improve the situation.
Due to concern that the river embankment is increasingly damaged, the residents collect money to
buy sand, rocks, and soil.
"We use sacks to contain the material, then we place it around the embankments that have leaks.
For the past ten years, we have been doing this embankment repair every year and it usually holds
up against water. However, it collapsed last Thursday. Perhaps it was due to the swift flow of the
river," said Nurkan.

Nurkan hopes that the government can be more proactive in responding to citizens' complaints. With
that, in the future, disaster events can be prevented. Nurkan also hopes that the repair and
strengthening of river embankments can be done immediately.

Meanwhile, during the inspection of floods in Demak, Minister of Public Works and Housing (PUPR),
Basuki Hadimuljono, stated that the government is currently working to repair breached
embankments, both at Sungai Lusi in Grobogan Regency, Central Java, and at Sungai Wulan in
Demak. In addition, the breached embankments in tertiary rivers will also be repaired.

"For the one on the Lusi River, I think it will be finished in two days. We will make a parapet that is as
high as the embankment. So far, water has run off because the road parapet is lower than the
embankment. Meanwhile, to handle the broken embankment on the Wulan River, we have prepared
five tools. "The target is that in the next two to three days the breach will be covered with a jumbo
bag," said Basuki.

According to Basuki, there were a number of obstacles faced in closing the broken embankment on
the Wulan River. To get to the point where the embankment broke, heavy equipment must pass
through the top of the embankment which is now muddy. Therefore, the repair process cannot be
rushed because care needs to be taken. Meanwhile, the material in the jumbo bag for covering the
embankment was brought to the point where the embankment broke using a boat.

To reduce flooding in residential areas, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (Kementerian
PUPR) has prepared 12 pumps with a capacity of 5 cubic meters per second each. These pumps will
operate for 12 hours a day to pump water from residential areas to the Wulan River. To expedite the
process, additional pumps will also be added.

On Monday, Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman visited Demak to provide assistance worth
a total of Rp 30 billion to three flood-affected areas in Central Java, namely Demak, Kudus, and
Grobogan. The assistance provided includes rice seeds for 10,000 hectares of tertiary irrigation
networks, Rice Farming Business Insurance, pumps, combination harvesters, and tractors.

"Furthermore, for the agricultural sector with insurance, it can be replaced. Those who plant new
crops can receive their seeds. Those with existing crops can receive seeds and fertilizers from the
ministry. Additionally, to accelerate the harvest, we will send a combination harvester," said Amran.

Amran urges farmers to register for insurance in order to receive production guarantees from the
government, especially for their agricultural land that experiences floods and other disasters. This
year, Amran is determined to increase insurance coverage so that farmers do not suffer significant
losses when disasters occur.