Five killed in flood

Five killed in flood

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Major floods swept through the regencies of Grobogan, Kendal and Cilacap, killing at least five people and forcing thousands of others to flee their homes last week, officials said.

The floods, which were triggered by two days of rain, also inundated thousands of houses and several thousand hectares of rice fields.

In Kendal, flooding was triggered by burst dikes along the Kalibodri river. It disrupted land transportation in a number of areas.

In Grobogan, the flooding was as deep as three meters in many places, cutting off the main road connecting Semarang and Purwodadi for several hours.

The widespread flooding that inundated hundreds of hamlets in Cilacap was the second flood in less than two weeks. (wah/rms)