Storm damages houses in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Heavy rain and gale-force winds hit the West Java capital of Bandung on Sunday, damaging dozens of houses in Baleendah, some 20 kilometers south of the city.

No injuries or casualties were reported in the storm, which occurred at 2:15 p.m.

Rina Agustin, a resident from Baleendah village, said the storm lasted 20 minutes, leaving many house roofs damaged and dozens of trees uprooted.

"It happened very fast. Most people remained in their houses because it was raining heavily outside," Rina said.

Baleendah Police chief Comr. Fama Dachi said a Corona sedan belonging to local resident Ade Pahala was reported damaged by a fallen tree on Jl. RAA Wiranatakusumah.

"We have had no reports of casualties by this (Sunday) afternoon," Fama said.

Nor were there reports of losses caused by storm.

The affected houses were located in at least two housing complexes in the villages of Baleendah and Andir, residents said.

Meanwhile, flooding hit three more districts in Cirebon regency, West Java, on Saturday, inundating hundreds of hectares of paddy and hundreds of residential houses.

The three districts hit by floodwaters are Lemahabang, Karang Sembung and Astanajapura, Antara reported.

The flooding occurred a day after heavy rains pounded the area and the nearby Cimanis and Singaraja rivers overflowed.

The flooding also cut traffic in the Sindanglaut area in Cirebon for three hours on Saturday, disrupting traffic between Cirebon and Central Java province. Water on the roads in Sindanglaut were reportedly one meter deep.

No fatalities were reported as of Saturday evening.