Flooding closes Medan's airport<\/p>\n
Flooding in the North Sumatra capital of Medan forced thousands
\nof residents to flee their homes on Saturday and temporarily shut
\ndown the city's Polonia International Airport.<\/p>\n
Incoming and departing flights were delayed and around 500
\npassengers were stranded at the airport, officials said.<\/p>\n
Head of Polonia airport Risman Nuryadin announced the closure
\nafter floodwaters spilled onto one of the runways, reaching up to
\n10 centimeters high.<\/p>\n
Risman could not say when the airport would be reopened.<\/p>\n
In the city's other locations, floodwaters were between half a
\nmeter and two meters high.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Medan administration, Rusdi Siregar, said
\npreliminary data showed at least 1,500 houses in several villages
\nwere inundated, the biggest flood in the last three months.<\/p>\n
\"Throughout this year, we recorded floods have struck Medan at
\nleast four times. This time was the worst,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The flooding, which followed a daylong downpour, started after
\nseveral rivers overflowed.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of injuries. Marines and other rescue
\nworkers sailed aboard rubber canoes to rescue people. (Apriadi Gunawan)<\/p>",
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