Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - The Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBA) has said that the massive flood that swamped three districts of Aceh in December 2021 has been handled and the flood-affected people have returned to their daily lives.
"The flood situation in the area has been controlled, especially in North Aceh, East Aceh, and Aceh Tamiang," BPBA's head of emergency and logistics, Fadmi Ridwan, said in Banda Aceh on Monday.
In late December 2021, the districts of North Aceh, East Aceh, and Aceh Tamiang were hit by a flood that submerged a number of public facilities and schools and thousands of housing units. The flood forced thousands of residents to leave the areas.
The situation in the three districts has been brought under control, Ridwan said. Only a few areas with low topography have reported some minor water-logging in the form of puddles as the floodwaters have taken some time to dry completely, he added.
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Some water-logging has been reported in Matang Kuli in North Aceh district and Tenggulun in Aceh Tamiang, too, he informed.
"But on the other hand, those areas are based on palm tree productions, (presence of water) which benefits the palm tree farmers," he highlighted.
Currently, there are no more evacuees seeking refuge away from their homes, he said. During the flood, residents evacuated sporadically and independently, he informed. For instance, in inundated residential areas, evacuees used public facilities such as musallas to stay safe, he said.
"They stayed there for a day to two, but they independently did activities every day to control their homes and livestock. So, they did not evacuate like those of the eruption of Mount Merapi, who occupied one evacuation camp," he added.
Furthermore, the community has resumed normal activities, he said. School students have returned to their learning sessions, he added. However, the post-flooding cleaning process is still on in some locations, he noted.
"Teaching and learning activities at educational institutions have run as usual. There are some areas that are still being cleaned up," Ridwan said.
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