Floods hit regencies, city across Indonesia

Floods hit regencies, city across Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Thu, January 03 2013, 3:30 PM




Too early for harvesting: Farmers uproot chili plants from farmland inundated after the Bengawan Solo River overflowed in Ngulanan village, Dander district, Bojonegoro, East Java, on Thursday. The flood has destroyed hundreds of acres of rice and chili fields.(Antara/Aguk Sudarmojo)Floods have inundated hundreds of houses and hectares of farmland in three regencies -- West Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Aceh Besar in Aceh and Bojonegoro in East Java --forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Thursday that the floods had inundated four districts, Pototano, Sateluk, Brangrea and Taliwang in West Sumbawa as of Wednesday afternoon.

“Some 372 houses were affected, while two were destroyed,” he said in a statement.

Sutopo said the floods had also affected 120 hectares of farmland and destroyed three bridges.

A four-meter-deep flood also inundated 95 houses in Beurenud village in Aceh Besar, displacing some 600 residents.

Meanwhile, downpours have caused massive flooding, which affected 445 houses in four districts in Bojonegoro – Balen, Sugihwaras, Trucuk, Bojonegoro – since Wednesday morning, Sutopo said.

He added that dozens of hectares of rice crops were at risk of failure due to the flood.

Hundreds of houses in Manggala district in Makassar, South Sulawesi, have reportedly been inundated by thigh-deep floodwater since Wednesday evening following a two-day downpour. Dozens of women and children have been evacuated by the local disaster mitigation agency using rubber dinghies, Antara news wire reported.

The local BNPB office in the area had worked with relevant bodies to distribute first aid to the affected areas, as well as establish temporary kitchens and clinics in the shelters. (cor/swd)