Flash Floods Damage Hundreds of Hectares of Paddy Fields in E Java

Bojonegoro, East Java (ANTARA) - Flash floods hit several villages in Bojonegoro district, East Java province, on Wednesday, damaging hundreds of hectares of paddy fields. "Among the affected villages are Baureno, Pesen, Simbatan, Woro and Piyak. We are still calculating the material losses from the flash floods," Bojonegoro¿s Head of Disaster Mitigation Agency, Kasiyanto, said here on Wednesday. He explained that the flash floods were caused by incessant downpours in the area since Tuesday (January 1) midnight. Floodwaters reaching a height of up to 25cm have submerged the paddy fields in Kepohbaru subdistrict, Woro village. Meanwhile, Baureno village was inundated with 40cm-high floods. Several regions in Indonesia have been hit by floods over the past month, with the country being in the middle of the rainy season, which starts from December and continues until March. Earlier, on Sunday, heavy floods in the Nagari Tiku Lima Jorong village, Agam district, West Sumatra, cut off at least 1,500 families, according to a village head. "The floods were caused by the overflow of Batang Antokan and Masang rivers in the villages of Jorong Subang-Subang, Labuan, Muaro Putih, Masang and Gadih Angik, with floodwaters reaching a height of up to one metre," the head of the Nagari Tiku Lima Jorong, Bagindo Rosman, said here on Monday. "I was informed that the people there have run out of food," he stated, adding that some 100 out of the 1,500 families were trapped in villages that were inundated with 1.5 metre-high floods. On the night of the same day, a flash flood triggered by incessant rainfall inundated hundreds of houses in several parts of Gorontalo city. "The flood affected the Siendeng, Biawu and Tenda areas in Hulonthalangi sub-district," said Amir, a local resident, here on Monday. Many residents of the flood-hit areas moved to safer places. "This time, the flood situation is very bad, forcing us to move our belongings to higher grounds," Amir stated. The flash flood was caused by the overflowing of Bulango river.(*)