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Indonesia

Indonesia: Annual floods swamp Medan, Batam

Apriadi Gunawan and Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Medan, Batam

Flooding caused by heavy rain inundated hundreds of houses in five districts in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday. No casualties were reported, but the flooding paralyzed activity in the districts.

In addition to inundating residential areas, the flooding also affected office complexes and schools, forcing the cancellation of classes at two state-run elementary schools near the Medan Tembung district office.

One resident, Nalis, said the water began entering his house near the Babura River at 1 a.m. and continued to rise as a rainstorm pounded the area.

Nalis, his wife and seven children were eventually forced to evacuate to higher ground.

"We were forced to evacuate when the water was about two meters high in the house. We were afraid something bad would happen," he said Thursday afternoon.

Dahniar, a resident of the Pamen Bawah housing complex, said he only managed to save a TV and some clothes when the rising waters forced him and his family to flee at about 5 a.m.

A number of residents of the housing complex are now camped out in the front yards of houses farther from the river.

When contacted for information on the latest developments in the flooding, Medan city spokesman Arlan Nasution said he was away from the office and knew nothing about the situation.

Hartanto of the Polonia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the intensity of the rainfall in Medan, reaching about 124 millimeters per day, had the potential to cause further flooding.

He said they were expecting intense rainfall along the east and west coasts of North Sumatra through the beginning of next year.

"Residents must increase their alert levels because the intensity of the rainfall has the potential to cause flooding," he said.

Meanwhile, in Batam, Riau Islands province, heavy rain and flooding has disrupted activity at the island's industrial estates, angering businesspeople.

Heavy rain between Sunday and Tuesday caused flooding that disrupted traffic on roads in Batam. Floodwaters also inundated several residential areas housing workers at the industrial estates.

Johannes Kennedy Aritonang, head of the Riau Islands Industrial Estate Association, said foreign investors at industrial estates in Batam were disappointed by the flooding, which he blamed on poor infrastructure.

"The flooding resulted in a drop in productivity because many workers were unable to get to work," Johannes Kennedy said.

He added that as far back as 2002 complaints have been made to the Batam Authority and Batam city administration about flooding, but no response was forthcoming.

Jhon Sulistiawan, general manager of the Batamindo industrial estate, also criticized the Batam city administration and the Batam Authority for their handling of the flooding.

"At about 3 a.m. I was telephoned by investors questioning the seriousness of the local administration in handling infrastructure. How can you attract more investors with these conditions?" Jhon asked.

The Batamindo industrial estate currently houses 83 foreign companies employing up to 68,000 workers.