Bahorok Flood in 2003, the Worst Flood in Indonesia

Heavy rain in the long term is one sign of extreme climate change. The worst flood in Indonesia was caused by heavy rain that increased the water volume. The residential area and public facilities are damaged by floods. A lack of water catchment areas worsens flood conditions.

What is the Worst Flood in Indonesia?

Flood is an impact of heavy rain as a sign of extreme climate change. This disaster can occur anywhere. However, certain areas are riskier. Some areas in Indonesia are more dangerous due to natural factors and other conditions.

Bahorok Flood in North Sumatra on November 2^nd, 2003, is the worst flood ever to hit Indonesia. The reason it is called the Bahorok Flood is that the flood was caused by the Bahorok River overflowing after heavy rain for a long time that occurred from the afternoon to the evening.

Based on reports, the victims are domestic residents and foreign tourists, where 157 people died, including six foreign tourists. Meanwhile, 82 others are missing. The material damage is also significant. More than 400 buildings and public facilities were destroyed overnight.

The chronology is a rumbling sound was heard from the hill, and louder in the Bahorok River area. The incident happened very quickly, with a large brown wave crashing upstream in a few seconds, destroying everything in its path.

The terrible flood and its risks have been deeply recorded in public memory as a deadly disaster. It is marked as the worst flood that has ever occurred in Indonesia. The international parties have also drawn attention to this tragedy because of foreign tourists became the victims while on vacation.

Risk Factors

The main factor for flooding is heavy rain in the long term. Meanwhile, the trigger factors include overflowing rivers, ponds, or other water reservoirs due to increased water volume. A lack of water catchment areas also increases the risk.

From the worst flood in Indonesia, it was discovered that the risk factor was heavy rain, which caused the Bahorok River to overflow. This overflow was apparently triggered by forest destruction in the upper reaches of the Bahorok River due to human activity. Deforestation has occurred in the water catchment area, reducing the water reservoirs. Development has also occurred in the river basin.

The sustainability of the river upstream areas needs to be maintained to prevent natural disasters. However, the opposite is true in the Bahorok River upstream. There was illegal logging and nature exploitation.

Illegal logging removed vegetation that absorbs rainwater and holds the soil together. Water retention areas and water catchment areas were reduced. Moreover, there are buildings in water catchment areas, such as housing, roads, or infrastructure, that reduce the water catchment area. Actually, it increases water flow rapidly and causes flooding.

The Lessons Learned in Disaster Management

The various facts about this devastating flood need to be learned. The goal is to improve flood prevention and management. Some points need to be addressed.

1. Nature Conservation

Natural exploitation contributed to the devastating floods of 2003 is ironic. That is a shocking factor from human activity. This action demonstrates a lack of environmental awareness, so conservation is needed to reduce the potential for flooding, like preventing environmental damage, maintaining cleanliness, facilitating water flow, etc.

2. Enforcement of Exploitation Prohibitions

Illegal logging, excessive logging, and logging without reforestation are the causing factors of floods. So, the second point is enforcing the prohibition on natural exploitation. Other exploitative actions are land acquisition and decreasing water catchment areas. The government needs to enforce strict official regulations and tighten supervision.

3. Strengthening Disaster Warning System

Disaster warning systems need to be improved to mitigate risks. This system includes interconnected early warnings and evacuation warnings. An early warning is given before a disaster occurs, so it can inform the public about the potential of disasters. An evacuation warning is given after an early warning. Its function is to urge residents to immediately evacuate to a safe location.

4. Integrating Disaster Management

The terrible flooding in North Sumatra needs an integrated prevention and management system. A national program can be developed by the government and implemented at the regional level, ensuring standardization. This program consists of prevention, warning, response, recovery, and evaluation. This integrated program is helpful to ensure the success of each action.

5. Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a key prevention program for future disasters that consists of some actions. First, reforestation to increase the number of trees, where the tree roots function to hold the soil, while the leaves function as a canopy that prevents water from falling directly to the ground and flowing into rivers because it seeps in slowly.

Second, drainage management and expansion of water catchment areas greatly help smooth the flow of water and accommodate it adequately. Third, maintaining environmental sustainability needs to be done continuously.

The worst flood in Indonesia that known as the Bahorok flood, becomes a reminder that disaster management is crucial. Disaster prevention and disaster warning systems are crucial programs to prevent the occurrence. The government can provide an emergency messaging system containing disaster information.

Currently, a message-sending machine based on SMS (Short Message Service) is available to facilitate the provision of information to the public and relevant agencies about disasters. The range of this machine is wide, from 500 m to 2 km. The government can access it through the website smsbroadcaster.com.