Three die in Semarang floods

SEMARANG: Three people went missing when another flash flood hit Semarang Tuesday, inundating some 8,000 houses, causing several buildings to collapse, and forcing an estimated 1,000 people to flee to higher ground.

Those who went missing were Sartini, 25, Rasem, 49, and Rusmadi, 51. Witnesses said the three residents of Tlahab Lor village, Karangrejo, Purbalingga, were drowned in the flood.

Incessant rain over the past three days has caused the flooding which hit almost all of Semarang. Several government offices, shopping complexes, markets, a hospital, even the governor's official house, were inundated.

The worst hit areas were Lampersari and Gayamsari in east Semarang district, and north and west Semarang districts.

Central Java Governor Soewardi told The Jakarta Post this was the worst flood in the past three years. (har/12)