Floods begin to hit Java after drought<\/p>\n
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Banyumas, Central Java<\/p>\n
After being plagued by months of devastating drought, certain
\nparts of Central Java have now began to be hit by flooding amid
\nthe start of this year's wet season.<\/p>\n
Floods inundated hundreds of houses in at least 12 villages in
\nthe two districts of Banyumas and Cilacap, Central Java, on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
No casualties or injuries were reported. Most victims stayed
\nin their submerged houses but others sought refuge in drier
\nareas.<\/p>\n
The floods, which also affected hundreds of hectares of
\nfarmland, were triggered by two days of heavy rains that began
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
The floods were between 25 and 50 centimeters deep.<\/p>\n
In Banyumas, floods inundated 10 villages in the subdistricts
\nof Tambak and Sumpiuh, while in neighboring Cilacap regency,
\nhouses in the subdistricts of Nusawungu and Kroya were submerged.<\/p>\n
The affected villages in Banyumas are Nusadadi, Sumpiuh,
\nSelandaka, Karanggedang and Kemiri, all in Sumpiuh subdistrict;
\nand Plangkapan, Gumelar Kidul, Karangpetir, Gebangsari and
\nPrembun, all in Tambak subdistrict.<\/p>\n
Sukanto, an official with the emergency management and refugee
\nhandling task force in Tambak, said local residents were still
\nable to deal with the flooding.<\/p>\n
"Floodwaters came at around 2 a.m. (on Saturday), when people
\nwere waking up for sahur (dawn meals during Ramadhan). So, they
\nwere already prepared to take refuge," he said.<\/p>\n
However, most of the affected victims were yet to flee but
\ninstead remained in their flooded homes, he added.<\/p>\n
"But we have prepared refugee posts for victims wanting to
\ntake shelter. We also have provided six boats that may be needed
\nany time to evacuate villagers," Sukanto said.<\/p>\n
Sumpiuh subdistrict head M. Nadjib said the floods submerged
\nat least 214 hectares of farmland in his area. "However, the
\ninundated farmland has just been harvested, so the flooding did
\nnot cause crop losses to local farmers."<\/p>\n
In those hit areas, floodwaters were up to the depth of 50
\ncentimeters, he said.<\/p>\n
Nadjib said Nusadadi and neighboring villages in his
\nsubdistricts were prone to floods during the rainy season.<\/p>\n
In Cilacap, floods submerged 50 houses in Nusawangkal village,
\nand 80 others in Karangsambung village, both in Nusawungu
\nsubdistrict.<\/p>\n
The floods inundated around five kilometers of the road
\nconnecting the subdistricts of Nusawungu (Cilacap) and Sumpiuh
\n(Banyumas).<\/p>\n
In 2001, Cilacap and Banyumas were plagued by severe floods
\nthat inundated 20,000 houses with waters reaching up to 1.5
\nmeters high.<\/p>\n
The floods and landslides killed at least 20 people in the two
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
Java has seen severe deforestations blamed on unchecked
\nlogging and clearing of land for housing complexes and other
\npurposes.<\/p>\n
Most parts of the crowded island have just faced devastating
\ndroughts for months this year, which resulted in a water crisis
\nand crop failures.<\/p>\n
The central government has banned logging in Java and moved to
\nreforest the island in an effort to prevent more drought and
\nfloods in the future.<\/p>\n
Flooding also hit hundreds of houses in southern parts of
\nLampung province in the past two days following heavy rains that
\ncaused rivers to burst their banks.<\/p>\n
South Lampung Regent Zulkifli Anwar was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying that the floods hit after rivers there overflowed, causing
\nlosses of millions of rupiah to local villages.<\/p>\n
Dozens of refugees in Padangcermin subdistrict had to stay at
\nsafer areas in South Lampung as their houses were still submerged
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
They asked for food aid from authorities and others in order
\nfor them to survive while taking refuge.<\/p>\n
Many other victims had returned home after floodwaters receded
\nin their villages.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/floods-begin-to-hit-java-after-drought-1447893297",
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