Hundreds of Houses Flooded in Mojokerto

Mojokerto, East Java (Antara) - Floods inundated at least 350 houses in four villages in Jabon Tegal, Pungging Subdistrict, Mojokerto District, East Java Province, on Tuesday. The floodwaters reached heights ranging between 70 cm to one meter, noted M. Saefi, coordinator of the Mojokerto Youth's Disaster Alert. "At least 750 people have been affected by the floods, which have also submerged public facilities such as roads and places of worship there," he pointed out. The four affected villages in Jabon Tegal are Bekatul, Joko Dayoh, Guo, and Jabon. Make-shift kitchens will be set up to help provide food for the flood-affected people. The floods were triggered as a result of the Sadar and Gembolo rivers overflowing their banks, following incessant heavy rains. Meanwhile, the floods submerged four villages in the Jrengik Subdistrict, Sampang District, Madura Island, also in East Java Province, following incessant heavy rains since Monday. The flood-affected villages are Taman, Penyepen, Majengan and Margantoko, remarked Wisno Hartono, head of the Sampang disaster mitigation office (BPBD). Hundreds of houses and a number of roads have been inundated by the floodwaters reaching a height of up to one meter in the four villages. The Nyiburan River in Sampang overflowed following heavy downpours. Hundreds of hectares of farming areas in the district have also been flooded. In the Jombang District, also East Java, at least seven people were killed in a landslide in the Kopen Hamlet, Ngrimbi Village. With the discovery of the latest victim, the total death toll due to the landslide has now reached seven. Teams of rescue workers comprising personnel from the military, SAR operatives, and local residents are still searching for the other missing victims. In the incident, 14 people were believed to have been buried under the rubble that slid down the hill behind their homes as a result of the torrential rains and engulfed their houses. Five survived the disaster. (*)