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.