Floods kill four in C. Java, halt traffic on north coast line

Blontank Poer and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Semarang/Purwokerto

At least four people were killed and the main Surabaya-Semarang- Jakarta railroad through Central Java's north coast was cut on Sunday as more floods triggered by torrential rains devastated parts of Pekalongan and Batang regencies.

The flooding seriously damaged railroad tracks in at least three villages, Ponowareng, Kuripan and Roban - all in Tulis subdistrict -- in Batang, about 70 kilometers west of Semarang, with the tracks being left hanging about 200 centimeters above the ground after the topsoil had been washed away, local police said.

Makbul Sujudi, director of state-owned railroad company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI)'s operation region IV in Semarang, said that the tracks in several locations had been damaged as floodwaters had washed away soil following heavy rains that fell from Saturday night through Sunday morning.

The two-kilometer section of track was cut at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday night. As of late last night, all traffic on the line was still at a completely standstill.

All executive and economy class trains serving the Semarang- Surabaya route, which runs along the north coast, had to be rerouted to the south coast line via Tegal, Prupuk, Purwokerto and Yogyakarta.

But some executive class trains, such as the Argo Muria, Kamandanu, Senja Utama Semarang and Fajar Utama Bisnis as well as economy class trains had been canceled, Sujudi said.

In the case of the Fajar Utama business class train from Surabaya, the rail company put on buses to ferry passengers from Semarang to Jakarta.

At least 50 trains serve the flood-hit north coast line every day.

Sukarjo, 45, an official at Pekalongan railway station, said the damage to the tracks was very worrying as in some cases the trackbed had been swept away by the floods.

"Actually, the tracks were only briefly inundated by the floodwaters, but a great deal of damage resulted as the water was flowing very fast," he told The Jakarta Post.

It was not clear when the line would return to normal. Local KAI officials said it would take at least two days to repair the tracks if the weather was good.

"We have temporarily closed the ticket booths and passengers who have bought tickers will be allowed to get refunds," Sujudi said.

In Semarang, another senior local KAI official, Imam Santoso, said that on Sunday night they would still dispatch the Argomuria, Kamandanu and Senja Utama to Jakarta via the south coast route through Kedungjati, Solo and Cirebon.

"All the trains that travel via the south coast line will arrive around five hours late, provided there are no other unforeseen delays," he said.

The floods that inundated the three subdistricts of Tulis, Batang and Subah, where the waters rose to between 50 centimeters and 100 centimeters deep, claimed the lives of at least four villagers in Batang.

The victims, all residents of Pemalang town in Central Java, were washed away by the floodwaters, along with their Isuzu Panther van, at Adinuso village in Subah.

The driver of the van survived.

Only one of the four bodies -- identified as 50-year old Sin Yot -- has been found. The bodies of the other three -- Lim Eng Hie, 50, Lin Cou Hua, 53, and Engkong, 80, -- are still missing.

Another van, this time a Kijang, was also swept away about five kilometers from the scene of the first accident. The whereabouts of its passengers remained unknown as search and rescue workers were still looking for them.

Meanwhile, all the seven victims killed in a landslide on Saturday in Lempongsari village, Gajah Mungkur subdistrict, Semarang, have been found after another three bodies were unearthed at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The three were Aisyiyah, 39, and her two daughters Putri, 5, and Fonny, 13. All seven victims were women.

Police said the landslide had swept seven houses some 30 meters downhill in the hilly residential area of Candi after a retaining wall broke early on Saturday.

Nationwide floods have killed at least 150 in Jakarta and Java provinces since late January.

Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructures Sunarno said the devastating flooding across Indonesia had caused infrastructural damage worth Rp 1.8 trillion (US$176.5 million).

"According to provisional calculations, the country has suffered a total loss of Rp 1.8 trillion in damaged or destroyed roads, school buildings, dikes and drainage channels as a result of the recent floods," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said that in Jakarta alone, the floods since late January had caused Rp 700 billion worth of damage.

Sunarno added that these estimates were based on the funds required to repair or rebuild ruined infrastructure and did not include the value of individual property losses.

"In Jakarta alone, around 100,000 homes have been damaged," he added.