By Ganug Nugroho Adi
Thousands of residents in Surakarta, Central Java, are being forced to evacuate after floodwater engulfed hundreds of homes following heavy rains that have been falling since Tuesday morning.
In Sukoharjo, homes in Karangwuni and Tegalsari villages in Weru district were flooded after the Siluwur River burst its banks.
“More than a 100 homes, several schools and hundreds of hectares of farming land are flooded,” Weru district head Samino said Wednesday.
He added that the Sukoharjo administration and the Klaten Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) were still trying to evacuate residents from their homes as the water level was still high.
Bayat, Klaten, also faced a similar situation where the Dengkeng River overflowed and flooded the surrounding area.
In Wonogiri, floods and landslides have hit 14 subdistricts since Tuesday morning.
“This is the worst flooding in the last 10 years. There are no casualties but 2,000 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters,” Wonogiri Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Bambang Haryanto said on Wednesday. He said in December 2007, floods killed 17 residents of Tirtomoyo subdistrict.
This year, the flood blocked roads that connected Wonogiri-Pacitan and Wonogiri-Tirtomoyo, he added.
At least 11 people died after the Cyclone Cempaka hit Java Island. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a warning on Monday that the cyclone had formed off the southern coast of Java and was ready to hit Java and Bali islands. (hol/ebf)