Many flee as flood spreads

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.