SEKINCHAN: Berpuluh rumah penduduk sekitar ban 1 dan ban 2, Parit 4 di sini, mengalami kerosakan teruk susulan kejadian puting beliung awal pagi tadi.

Dalam kejadian sekitar jam 7.30 pagi itu, kejadian angin kencang berputar itu menerbangkan atap dan bumbung kediaman penduduk rata-ratanya di kawasan sawah bendang.

Bencana ketika hujan lebat itu turut meranapkan deretan kedai, rumah inap desa dan bengkel jentera penanaman padi.

Berdasarkan video yang tular, angin puting beliung itu dilihat menerbangkan bumbung kediaman penduduk setinggi lebih 50 meter ke udara.

JAKARTA: Authorities here have started to seed clouds to stem heavy rainfall that caused flooding around Jakarta, officials said, after one person died and thousands were displaced.

The deluge that began on Monday hit Jakarta, home to around 11 million people, as well as the neighbouring cities of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang.

At least one person, who local media identified as a three-year-old girl, died after torrential rain made several rivers overflow, pushing waters up 3m and submerging more than 1,000 homes.

Authorities estimated the bad weather could last until March 11 so took the preemptive measure of cloud seeding, prompting rain away from flood-hit areas or drawing rain from smaller clouds to prevent heavier rainfall later.

“Hopefully, with the weather modification, we can reduce it,” said weather agency head Dwikorita Karnawati. “We can’t prevent the rain ... that’s impossible ... but we can reduce the intensity.”

Cloud seeding, the practice of using planes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain, will last until Saturday and focus on mountainous areas in West Java province where heavy rainfall can flow down to nearby cities including Jakarta.

“We can’t let the clouds get too big, so we will make it come down little by little,” said Dwikorita.

Authorities said as of late Tuesday at least 2,200 residents had been displaced by the floods, as locals took to rooftops or used ropes to pull themselves to safety from the high waters. – AFP

Sekurang-kurangnya 124,816 penduduk terjejas akibat banjir yang melanda kawasan metropolitan, merangkumi Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang dan Bekasi serta sebahagian wilayah Banten.

Badan Nasional Pengurusan Bencana (BNPB) melaporkan, pihak berkuasa memantau situasi dengan rapi serta menyelaras usaha bantuan termasuk pemindahan mangsa, pengagihan makanan dan perkhidmatan kecemasan.

Selaraskan bantuan

Jurucakap BNPB, Abdul Muhari, berkata setakat jam 7 malam kelmarin, banjir menjejaskan 13,704 keluarga atau kira-kira 51,320 penduduk di 18 kampung dalam 10 mukim di Kabupaten Bekasi.

“Kawasan terjejas termasuk Bojongmangu, Cikarang Utara, Cikarang Timur dan beberapa kawasan lain, paras air belum surut,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan semalam.

Beliau turut memaklumkan, wilayah Bekasi dan Banten kawasan paling teruk terjejas, diikuti Jakarta dan Depok.

Bagi mengurangkan risiko banjir berlanjutan, BNPB merancang operasi weather modification dari 4 hingga 8 Mac di kawasan hulu Puncak Bogor, bertujuan mengurangkan intensiti hujan yang menjadi punca utama banjir di kawasan rendah.

“Usaha ini bagi mengalihkan taburan hujan dari kawasan berisiko tinggi untuk meminimumkan kerosakan lanjut,” kata Abdul Muhari.

Beliau juga berkata, pihak berkuasa terus menilai kerosakan dan menyelaras bantuan kepada mereka yang terjejas.

BERNAMA

KOTA KINABALU: A woman who just finished her sahur was killed when a landslide hit her home in Kampung Lok Bonu, Sepanggar, yesterday.

Sitti Harija Norulla, 53, was reported to have been buried under the landslide debris and rubble of her home in the 4am incident.

The victim’s 39-year-old son, known only as Al, said he was working at a nearby factory when the incident occurred.

He said his mother and younger brother, Zulkiman, 25, had just finished their sahur when they heard a loud noise.

“My brother said he stepped outside to check, and suddenly there was a tremor.

“He tried to pull my mother’s hand to escape, but the tremor was too strong, and he was thrown aside.

“Our house had already moved several metres from its original position.

“After that, I was contacted and I rushed home to search for my mother with the help of the villagers. We eventually found her buried under the landslide,” he said at the scene.

Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department chief Ordine Gilu said his team received an emergency call regarding the incident at 4.32am.

He said a team of 11 firefighters were despatched to the site.