Banyumas experiences downpour

BANYUMAS, Central Java: People in Banyumas regency welcomed the heavy downpour on Monday and early on Tuesday, following a six-month drought in the southern part of Central Java.

Following the rains farmers went to their farmland to see what they could do with their land and hoped to get clean water from their drying wells.

The local office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said that the rain was not a signal of the long-awaited wet season and the drought was expected to continue until the end of November, 2002.

The heavy rain has endangered a number of villages located in the hilly areas in the regency that are prone to landslides.

"We have ordered 200 families in Somagede village in Banyumas Subdistrict to leave their homes because the village is prone to landslides," Suyatno, coordinator of the task force for the handling of natural disasters in the regency, said on Tuesday.

The strong winds and heavy rain also toppled a number of trees in the village. --JP