Many flee as flood spreads
Agus Maryono and Puji Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Kebumen/Pekanbaru
The flooding that began on Saturday in Kebumen, Central Java, has spread through the regency to affect several towns and villages, sweeping away at least four houses and forcing hundreds of victims to flee on Tuesday.
On Saturday, dozens of villages in the four districts of Karanganyar, Adimulyo, Kuwarasan and Poncowarno became inundated, and one person was killed in the disaster.
Additional towns and villages in the districts have become affected after the Kemit River embankment in Adimulyo collapsed from more heavy rains on Monday.
The worst-hit is Adimulyo, where the flood has submerged all villages in the district -- Adikarto, Arjosari, Banyuroto, Bonjok, Caruban, Kemujan, Mangunharjo, Meles, Pekuwon, Sidomukti and Tegalsari.
Other rivers in Kebumen were also unable to hold back the floodwaters that have continued to rise since Friday night, and a number of dikes have given way.
Floodwaters rushed through Tegalsari, damaging or destroying dozens of houses after a 100-meter local dike on the Kemit River gave way.
At least four houses in Tegalsari were swept away and 15 others heavily damaged, while 200 homes were submerged in water. No new reports on casualties have been issued.
A Tegalsari resident, Martono, 34, said the section of the dike that had collapsed last Saturday had widened. "Suddenly, we heard a roar from the river, which was very scary. We immediately sounded the alarm to alert residents to save themselves," he said.
Kebumen Regent Rustriningsih held a coordination meeting on Monday with district heads and other relevant authorities, asking them to begin rebuilding the embankments immediately.
Roads and the surrounding countryside in Adimulyo were still covered in floodwaters of 50 to 175 meters deep. Fortunately, the water did not reach the main roads, so the traffic of Idul Fitri revelers who had left early was not disrupted.
Kebumen is highly prone to flooding during the rainy season. One of the worst floods was in 2000, when 15 people died and more then 10,000 homes were lost.
Floods also spread across several areas on Tuesday in Riau province after the Rokan River in Rokan Hilir regency burst its banks and submerged hundreds of riverside homes.
"We are continuing to monitor the situation in the field. At present, floodwaters near rivers reach a depth of 5.2 meters," said Jhon Syafrindow, district head of Tanahputih in Rokan Hilir.
The flooding started on Sunday in the neighboring regency of Rokan Hulu, submerging hundreds of houses in Pasir Pangaraian district and forcing locals to carry on with their daily activities using canoes.
Floodwaters also destroyed a bridge in Tambusai district along the main road that connects Riau and North Sumatra, while other public facilities were also damaged.
Riau Deputy Governor Wan Abubakar visited the collapsed bridge in West Tambusai village as floodwaters largely began to recede on Tuesday in Rokan Hulu.
Wan said he was worried that deliveries of basic staples and commodities from North Sumatra might be disrupted because of the collapsed bridge.
"We don't want that to happen, so we have readied a fund to restore the bridge," he added.