Floods paralyze west-central Java road traffic

Torrential rains showering the West Java town of Banjar on Tuesday triggered floods and landslides

ANTARA News | February 17, 2010

As a result, the roads linking southern West Java to the Central Java district of Cilacap were cut off, a local resident said.

A number of motorcycles and cars got stuck in a meter-high flood water inundating Cikadu road, Karang Panimbal village, Purwaharja suburb. A trailer was among the ill-fated vehicles.

Head of Karang Panimbal village, Nia Kurni Permasih, said the floods submerged several houses and landslides occurred in three spots but the latter did not disrupt traffic.

Over the past few weeks, heavy rains have been falling in various parts of West Java.

On Monday, a resident of Bandung was killed and another went missing after their houses collapsed during torrential rains.

Asep Jaja, 11-year-old Citeureup villager in Dayeuhkolot suburb, Bandung city, was killed by the debris of his ruined house on Monday at 3.30 pm., a resident said.

The house, located on the Cikapundung river bank, collapsed by the strong current. The debris hit him, witnesses said.

In the accident, two other people inside the damaged house, Asep Rohmat and David, got injured. They had been admitted to Hasan Rasidin hospital for medical treatment.

On the same day, a 65-year-old resident of Mengger village in Bandung Kidul sub district, Bandung city, went missing after he slipped into the Cikapundung river.

Sugiri DH Mahari slipped into the river and was carried away by the strong current after the garage where he was cleaning his car suddenly collapsed during a heavy downpour.

The debris of the ruined garage fell into the river along with Sugiri, a local police officer said.

Some parts of Indonesian capital city of Jakarta were also inundated by flash floods last weekend after torrential rains showered the highlands of West Java`s Puncak and Bogor areas.

As a result, tens of housing complexes and hundreds of houses in Jakarta were submerged.

The Puncak tourist resort area and Bogor have been the main sources of flash floods for Jakarta during the rainy season because 13 rivers flowing from these areas go through the capital city before reaching the sea.(*)

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