Central Java floods and landslide kill five

JAKARTA (JP): Five people have died in floods in Banyumas, following another accident that saw a whole family killed in a landslide on Sunday.

The latest victim was a woman found in the Cirongkang river in Banyumas district on Monday afternoon, Antara reported Tuesday.

Sources said Risol, 30, died after a strong current swept her away when she and her husband Surin were crossing a bridge.

An entire family of four was also killed in Duren village of Bawang district, Banjarnegara regency. They were Mujirno, 34 and his wife Royhati, 24, and their two children Iwan, 6, and Evi, 2. Their home was hit by a landslide early Sunday and the bodies could only be recovered in the afternoon.

Banyumas regent Aris Setiono said the floods were caused by the overflowing of the Klawing river passing Purbalingga, Banyumas and Kebumen. Thousands of residents took refuge and were provided with meals by the local administrations, while thousands of hectares of crops were flooded.

In Lamongan village, the medical center was also inundated and medical supplies were swept away by the flood waters.

In Jakarta, the ministry of public works said it was allocating up to Rp 15 billion in emergency funds in the wake of the floods, the agency reported.

The funds were part of a Rp 400 billion budget for floods, the director general of water works Budiman Arif said.

Minister of Public Works Rachmadi Bambang Sumadhijo said here Tuesday that the ministry was fixing roads in strategic areas, and expected to finish the job before Idul Fitri.

He said his office will soon define flood prone areas for the public and give maps to motorists passing toll gates.

"The information will include alternative roads," Rachmadi said.

From Semarang, the agency reported that traffic on the road linking Purwodadi and Semarang was disrupted as at least 35 meters of road surface had subsided by one meter.

Traffic from Semarang was rerouted on to back roads. Governor Mardianto said the repair of the road would be a priority as it was a main route. (45/anr)