Homes and industry hit by flooding

TANGERANG (JP): Hundreds of houses and dozens of industrial plants in the town were flooded yesterday, forcing residents to evacuate to nearby safe areas and halting the plants' operation.

The flood, which reached a level of between 30 centimeters and two meters, was caused mainly by the Cisadane river overflowing due to heavy rain in Bogor.

"The water started inundating the area at 2 a.m. on Tuesday when the sky was clear," one of the flood victims said.

Penunggangan Barat and Karawaci were the most severely affected subdistricts. Here the flooding spread over one kilometer, paralyzing transportation and other activities.

About 320 elementary school students could not attend classes as their school building in Penunggangan Barat was inundated.

Several industrial plants employing hundreds of workers in the two districts could not operate as well.

"The water level reached 50 centimeters so that the water was inundating the machinery," a worker at a carton manufacturing factory said.

Other areas affected by the flood included Periuk Jaya subdistrict and the Pondok Arum housing complex, where the water level reached about 30 centimeters.

Both Tangerang Mayor H. Djakaria Machmud and Tangerang Regent Agus Djunara, were informed of the flood and immediately ordered their subordinates to make on-the-spot checks and establish communal kitchens to help the victims.

The two officials also ordered the city's health office to give medical assistance and provide medicine to anticipate any outbreaks of disease after the flood.

Agus also visited a number of flood spots. The areas he visited included Kampung Beting in Teluk Naga district.

Due to the narrow alleys, the regent was forced to park his car and go by pedicab for two kilometers. During the journey, he held informal talks with flood victims. The pedicab driver got Rp 50,000 (US$5.60) for his efforts, a windfall in the current hard times. (41/hhr)