Flooding spreads in Indramayu homes regency

Flooding spreads in Indramayu homes regency

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Indramayu, West Java

Torrential rains that have pounded Indramayu regency since last
week have caused massive floods in the area, inundating at least
10,000 hectares of paddy fields and at least 1,400 homes, mainly
in Kandanghaur district.

Various sources at the Indramayu administration said that the
flooded paddy fields were scattered across 62 villages in 14
districts.

The regency is comprised of 28 districts.

The head of the Indramayu agriculture office, Kusnomo Tamkani,
estimated that farmers had lost about Rp 1.7 billion (US$200,000)
to the floods.

He added that most of affected paddy fields were located near
the coast.

"Of the 14 districts affected by the floods, the most badly
hit was Kandanghaur district. The floods washed over 4,093
hectares of the 6,215 hectares that had been planted," he said on
Wednesday.

The rice farmers must replant their crops, as floodwaters had
submerged and destroyed the two-month-old plants.

Kusnomo assured farmers that the government would immediately
distribute seedlings for replanting, after the floodwaters had
subsided.

Separately, regent Irianto M.S. Syafiuddin said the Indramayu
Natural Disaster and Refugee Management Task Force had proposed a
Rp 500 million aid package to the regental council to help
residents back on their feet.

Aside from destroying thousands of hectares of crops, the
floods reportedly submerged 12 of 13 villages in Kandanghaur
district.

A Kandanghaur Public Order officer, Maruto, said some 1,400
houses were submerged in water 30 to 150 centimeters deep.

"A dike in Bojong River in Karanganyar and Kandanghaur
districts broke open in a 30-meter-long gash, and a deluge of
water from the river gushed into rice paddies and surrounding
homes," he said.

Separately, head of neighboring Sukra district Yayat Mulyanto
said four of the 14 subdistricts in his area had been flooded out
from heavy rains since last Monday.