Floods keep thousands stranded in regions

The Jakarta Post, Medan/Palembang/Jakarta

While flooding has receded in Jakarta and allowed people whose houses were inundated to return home, thousands of people in the regions were still displaced due to floods as of Saturday.

Over 2,500 people in Langkat regency, North Sumatra province, had to stay put in shelters as the water level in their neighborhood was still high.

The flooding, which has washed out thousands of hectares of paddy fields in the neighboring province of South Sumatra, has reduced the supply of rice in the area, cause prices to soar.

Contacted by The Jakarta Post, the head of Gebang district in Langkat regency, Iskandarsyah, said on Saturday that some 2,300 residents in his district had taken refuge in shelters in the area following flooding that began on Thursday.

"Until today, they are still afraid to return home, as the water level in their houses is still one meter high," said Iskandarsyah whose district was the hardest hit by the flooding.

Langkat is 100 kilometers east of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

He explained that some refugees in the district were affected by diarrhea and fever, but were already receiving treatment from government medical personnel.

Flooding also hit other districts in the regency, including Batang Serangan and Sawit Sebrang. It was reported that at least 11 houses were swept away by floods in Batang Serangan district, while 11 people were reportedly injured after they were hit by logs carried away by the strong current.

Separately in South Sumatra, the price of rice skyrocketed after flooding hit the area a few days ago.

The "555" brand of rice was priced at Rp 3,200 per kilogram, much higher than its normal price of Rp 2,700.

Dian, 29, a rice trader at Ilir Market in Palembang, said on Saturday that the supply of rice was low in the past few days, which prompted her to raise the price.

"Probably, some areas that traditionally produce rice have been struck by floods, causing crop failure," she said.

In Bandung, the capital of West Java, over 100 houses in two subdistricts in Dayeuhkolot district have been inundated by water since Friday morning.

People blamed the flooding on the incessant rain over the past few days that caused the Citarum River to overflow.

"If the rain continues, we fear the water level will rise," said Agus Zakia, the head of Dayeuhkolot district, as quoted by Antara.

The water level reached some 50 centimeters in several areas in the district, but there have been no reports yet whether local residents had taken refuge in safer places following the flooding.

In Jakarta, thousands of people in the capital returned home on Saturday as floods, which hit the capital on Wednesday and Thursday, began subsiding in most parts of the city.

Some residents have began to clean up their houses and plan to stay there for good, while others said that they would return to clean up the houses and go back to their relatives homes until the situation returned to normal.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) has urged Jakarta residents to stay alert for more floods because heavy rain is forecast for January and February in Jakarta and its upper water catchments of Puncak, Bogor, and Depok.