Brebes Flood Temporarily Disrupts Return Traffic from Purwokerto to Jakarta

Traffic returning from Purwokerto, Central Java to Jakarta was temporarily disrupted due to flooding that submerged the national road in Brebes Regency on Wednesday night (25/3). “Return traffic from Purwokerto, Central Java towards Jakarta was held up on Wednesday night (25/3) until Thursday (26/3) early morning. Because the Jenderal Sudirman National Road section in Ketanggungan Sub-district, Brebes was inundated with water,” said the Head of Public Relations of Central Java Police, Kombes Artanto, when contacted on Thursday. Artanto explained that the flooding was triggered by intense rainfall from Wednesday afternoon to evening. Additionally, the flood was caused by overflow from the Babakan River in the Ketanggungan sub-district area. Artanto stated that as a result of the flooding, the national road section connecting Pejagan to Prupuk towards Purwokerto was temporarily closed. “The police (Brebes Police Resort) implemented traffic engineering. Vehicles coming from the south of Purwokerto were diverted to the Tegal toll road,” he said. “Vehicles were also diverted via Songgom - Jatibarang - Brebes city,” he added. Nevertheless, Artanto noted that by Thursday morning around 05:00, the flood had begun to recede and the road could be traversed by vehicles again. “(The road section is) back to normal,” he said. Previously, flooding struck several villages in Brebes Regency, Central Java on Wednesday (25/3) around 22:00 WIB. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that the flood occurred in Karangmalang Village, Ketanggungan Village, Cikeusal Lor Village, Padasugihan Village, Dukuhturi Village, and Buara Village. “A total of 568 houses inhabited by 568 family heads were affected by the flood, with 34 people evacuating in Karangmalang Village, respectively in residents’ homes and local health facilities,” said the Head of the Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre of BNPB, Abdul Muhari, in his statement on Thursday (26/3). Abdul mentioned that the flood was triggered by rain with moderate to high intensity, causing drainage unable to accommodate the water discharge as well as overflow from the Babakan River impacting settlements and road access. The water level was reported to reach 20 to 100 cm. “As a result, the main road was flooded, disrupting community mobility, and bridge infrastructure experienced a decline causing access to Buara Village to be cut off,” he said. “In addition, losses were recorded in the form of 13 goats swept away by the flood current,” he added.