Heavy rain on Tuesday caused two rivers, Leyao and Bubode, to burst their banks and flood five villages in the Tomilito district, North Gorontalo regency, Gorontalo. The villages are Molintidu, Huidu Melito, Leyao, Bubode and Milango.
North Gorontalo Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Nurdin Humolungo said the floodwater was between 30 and 50 centimeters deep, inundating 306 houses in the five villages.
Despite the natural disaster, the residents chose to stay at home. The floods also submerged around 35.32 hectares of rice fields in Milango, Bubode and Molintidu.
"We confirm that the rice fields were totally destroyed and could not be harvested," Nurdin said, adding that four mosques and three schools were also flooded. The situation has also forced students to stay out of their schools. They might be able to return to school on Thursday.
Tahir Laendeng, logistic and emergency unit head at the BPBD, called on the residents to stay alert following the possible heavy rain that might still hit areas across Gorontalo.
The areas that are prone to flooding are the Tapa and Bone Pesisir districts, Bone Bolango regency, parts of the Trans Gorontalo-North Sulawesi route in North Gorontalo and some parts of Gorontalo City.