Flooding forces evacuation of hundreds in Indonesia's Kalimantan

JAKARTA. KAZINFORM - Heavy rains have flooded Indonesia's Paser district on Kalimantan island since Monday, forcing hundreds of residents to leave their inundated homes, according to the country's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Xinhua reports.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the agency's acting spokesperson Abdul Muhari said that the flooding occurred after two rivers, namely the Kandilo and the Sakerau, burst their banks and submerged at least 230 houses with water as deep as 100 cm to 150 cm.

More than 450 locals were forced to take shelters due to the disaster, Muhari said, adding that local authorities were currently sending aid deliveries to areas hit by the floods.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecasted that high-intensity rainfalls with lightning and strong winds potentially would lash East Kalimantan province until Monday next week.

In late August, the BMKG said the country entered the rainy season starting in September and the rainfall would peak between January and February next year.