Floods Inundate Five Villages in Cilacap

Cilacap, Central Java (Antara) - Floods have inundated five villages in Cilacap District, Central Java, following incessant heavy rains since Monday. The flood-affected villages are Sidareja, Gunungreja, Sidamulya, Sudagaran and Tegalsari, in Sidareja Sub-district, Supriyanto, head of the Cilacap disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) stated on Tuesday. The floodwater reached a height of 30 centimeters to 80 centimeters, forcing 50 people from 14 families to evacuate to a military building. The worst affected villages are Sidareja and Gunungreja. Head of Sidareja Sub-district Rumbarwoto noted that the floods have also inundated an Islamic junior high school, forcing it to shut down temporarily. "Hopefully, there will be no more rain. If it continues to rain, flooding will expand," he pointed out. Also, floods triggered by continuous rains in Central Java Province over the last several days, have affected 178,222 residents from Pati District. Head of Pati Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Sujono stated on Saturday that 17,915 residents, who were displaced from 4,191 families, took refuge in camps. Flood waters have inundated 149 villages in 20 sub-districts of Pati, reported officials. Some 11,832 hectares of agricultural lands in 10 sub-districts have also remained under water. Flooding has also affected neighboring districts of Kudus, Demak and Semarang. (*)