One person drowns in flood

One person drowns in flood

The Jakarta Post, Kebumen/Pekanbaru

Floods continued plaguing several parts of Java and Sumatra
provinces on Sunday, inundating hundreds of houses and leaving at
least one person dead.

The victim, identified as 55-year old Supardi, drowned in a
flood that hit Tegalrejo village in Poncowarno district, Kebumen
regency, Central Java.

Local villagers reported that Supardi drowned in the
Wadaslintang canal early on Sunday.

Scores of villages in the four districts of Adimulyo,
Karanganyar, Kuwarasan and Poncowarno were under water due to two
days of heavy rain in Kebumen on Friday and Saturday.

More than 150 houses were inundated to an average depth of 50
centimeters. Karanganyar was the district worst affected by the
floods that hit several subdistricts and villages including
Candi, Plarangan, Karangkemiri, Karanganyar and Panjatan.

Karsono, a 45-year old resident in Karanganyar, said the
flooding followed the collapse of the embankment after the rivers
swelled and overflowed.

The flood caused a 20-meter wide and four-meter high
embankment adjacent to the Panjaitan railway bridge and the Kemit
Rover embankment to collapse, he added.

Dozens of hectares of farmland were also inundated along with
farmhouses.

Kebumen Regent Rustriningsih visited the village of Adiluhur
and asked residents to leave their homes and take refuge.

"We have instructed residents living along the riverbanks to
abandon their houses immediately. We have prepared school
buildings and other accommodation," she told reporters.

Rustriningsih said she would hold a meeting on Monday with all
district heads to discuss rescue efforts for flood victims.

Floods inundated some 10,000 houses in Kebumen in 2000, one of
the most vulnerable areas in Central Java during the wet season,
and killed at least 15 people.

Flooding also inundated some 600 houses in the town of Pasir
Pangaraian, Rokan Hulu regency, some 240 kilometers from the Riau
capital of Pekanbaru, following heavy rains on Friday and
Saturday.

The thunder storm and torrential rain traumatized locals, who
had also been hit by flooding a week ago, which forced them to
flee and also cut off the Riau-North Sumatra highway.

Floodwaters were up to one meter high in several areas on
Saturday. Victims had to use canoes to salvage essential
household items and carry out their daily activities.

"Heavy rains started on Friday evening and has not stopped
today (Saturday). We are now going to market by canoe to prepare
for the breaking of the fast," said Wiwik, 21, a villager in
Pasir Pangaraian.

Similarly, the Deli River that traverses the North Sumatra
capital of Medan overflowed on Saturday with water levels two
meters above normal.

As a result, dozens of houses were inundated in the hamlets of
Aur and Sei Mati located along the riverbanks, Antara reported on
Sunday.

However, most local villages had anticipated that there would
be floods during the current wet season.

The flood was triggered by hours of rain on Saturday in Medan
and surrounding areas.

The rains also caused the Denai River, which flows through
Medan city and Percut Sei Tua in Deliserdang regency, to
overflow. However, there were no reports of structural damage or
casualties.