Flood hits C. Kalimantan

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: Heavy downpours over the last few days have led to flooding in Sampit, the capital of Kotawaringin Timur district, and Buntok, the capital of South Barito district.

The floods have already reached around 1.5 meters above the normal river level.

Antara reported on Monday that the situation was forcing locals to stay at home as the floods were inundating public buildings, facilities and roads, as well as their homes.

The rain and strong winds uprooted a tree which fell onto an electricity pole at Tjilik Riwut on Sunday, causing a power outage in Sampit.

Head of Palangkaraya's meteorology and geophysics office, Hidayat, revealed that the danger of flooding was spreading to other districts due to the heavy rainfall, which in Sampit had amounted to 100 millimeters per day. The normal rainfall for the area was 206.1 millimeters per month. --Antara