Thousands of C. Java flood victims in urgent need of humanitarian relief

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Pati

Tens of thousands of displaced people whose houses are still under water following the floods that hit the central Java regencies of Pekalongan, Batang, Pati and Kudus are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The displaced people, who are being accommodated in local government offices, school buildings and mosques that were not affected by the floods, can do nothing but wait for food and medicine from the government, charity foundations and local businessmen.

Despite the continued supply of food aid from numerous organizations, many flood victims have complained about food and drug shortages.

"Thousands of people living in remote areas in Batang regency have yet to receive food aid because of the absence of transportation facilities," said a volunteer in Batang who asked for anonymity.

According to data held by the provincial administration, thousands of villages in the four regencies are still affected by the flooding that started early this month. In many subdistricts, school activities have been halted as most school buildings have been inundated.

Seen from the air, all four regencies on the north coast form a large lake, with water between one and two meters in depth.

Sukiman, head of Banjarsari village in Pati, said more than 2,000 residents who were trapped in the floodwaters that continued to engulf their village were yet to receive any food or medical assistance because of the village's inaccessibility.

"Many residents have to use canoes to reach neighboring villages to take food aid from volunteers and the local administration's officers," he said. Villagers were staying in the upper part of their houses to avoid the floodwaters.

They had also constructed an additional floor in their houses in anticipation of a further rise in the water level. Most villagers had been unable to move to higher ground because the floodwaters arrived suddenly at night two weeks ago.

Banjarsari is one of 73 villages hardest hit by the floods. More than 250 students at elementary schools have had to miss classes over the last two weeks because their school buildings were under water.

"The most urgent thing now is food and medical aid because villagers no longer have any food supplies while many children are suffering from diarrhea, lung infections and skin diseases," said Sukiman.

He said many villagers had lost hope, knowing that it would continue raining until March.

A medical team from the Suwondo General Hospital in Pati visited the village two days after the village was submerged, he said.

He added that the villagers were still waiting for President Megawati Soekarnoputri's daughter Puan Maharani to distribute humanitarian relief to the affected villages.

The floods affecting the four regencies were caused by the overflow of River Juana from the Kedung Ombo dam located between Sragen and Boyolali in the province.

The flooding has damaged vital highways between Pekalongan and Semarang and Pati on the north coast and the railway track in Pekalongan that connects Jakarta and Semarang.

Damage to the roads has caused heavy traffic congestion along the north coast's highway while the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia had canceled services on the north coast line for four days.

The north coast highway is important to the supply of basic commodities between Jakarta and Central and East Java.