Floods begin to hit Java after drought

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Banyumas, Central Java

After being plagued by months of devastating drought, certain parts of Central Java have now began to be hit by flooding amid the start of this year's wet season.

Floods inundated hundreds of houses in at least 12 villages in the two districts of Banyumas and Cilacap, Central Java, on Sunday.

No casualties or injuries were reported. Most victims stayed in their submerged houses but others sought refuge in drier areas.

The floods, which also affected hundreds of hectares of farmland, were triggered by two days of heavy rains that began Friday.

The floods were between 25 and 50 centimeters deep.

In Banyumas, floods inundated 10 villages in the subdistricts of Tambak and Sumpiuh, while in neighboring Cilacap regency, houses in the subdistricts of Nusawungu and Kroya were submerged.

The affected villages in Banyumas are Nusadadi, Sumpiuh, Selandaka, Karanggedang and Kemiri, all in Sumpiuh subdistrict; and Plangkapan, Gumelar Kidul, Karangpetir, Gebangsari and Prembun, all in Tambak subdistrict.

Sukanto, an official with the emergency management and refugee handling task force in Tambak, said local residents were still able to deal with the flooding.

"Floodwaters came at around 2 a.m. (on Saturday), when people were waking up for sahur (dawn meals during Ramadhan). So, they were already prepared to take refuge," he said.

However, most of the affected victims were yet to flee but instead remained in their flooded homes, he added.

"But we have prepared refugee posts for victims wanting to take shelter. We also have provided six boats that may be needed any time to evacuate villagers," Sukanto said.

Sumpiuh subdistrict head M. Nadjib said the floods submerged at least 214 hectares of farmland in his area. "However, the inundated farmland has just been harvested, so the flooding did not cause crop losses to local farmers."

In those hit areas, floodwaters were up to the depth of 50 centimeters, he said.

Nadjib said Nusadadi and neighboring villages in his subdistricts were prone to floods during the rainy season.

In Cilacap, floods submerged 50 houses in Nusawangkal village, and 80 others in Karangsambung village, both in Nusawungu subdistrict.

The floods inundated around five kilometers of the road connecting the subdistricts of Nusawungu (Cilacap) and Sumpiuh (Banyumas).

In 2001, Cilacap and Banyumas were plagued by severe floods that inundated 20,000 houses with waters reaching up to 1.5 meters high.

The floods and landslides killed at least 20 people in the two regencies.

Java has seen severe deforestations blamed on unchecked logging and clearing of land for housing complexes and other purposes.

Most parts of the crowded island have just faced devastating droughts for months this year, which resulted in a water crisis and crop failures.

The central government has banned logging in Java and moved to reforest the island in an effort to prevent more drought and floods in the future.

Flooding also hit hundreds of houses in southern parts of Lampung province in the past two days following heavy rains that caused rivers to burst their banks.

South Lampung Regent Zulkifli Anwar was quoted by Antara as saying that the floods hit after rivers there overflowed, causing losses of millions of rupiah to local villages.

Dozens of refugees in Padangcermin subdistrict had to stay at safer areas in South Lampung as their houses were still submerged on Sunday.

They asked for food aid from authorities and others in order for them to survive while taking refuge.

Many other victims had returned home after floodwaters receded in their villages.