Twelve Killed in Sukabumi Landslide

Jakarta Globe, AFP, Mar 29, 2015

Rescuers carry a dead body after a landslide hit Jemblung village, in Central
Java's Banjarnegara district, on Dec. 13, 2014. (EPA Photo/Gugus Mandiri)

Jakarta. Twelve people were killed and 11 houses buried after a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Indonesia’s main island of Java, an official said on Sunday.

The landslide hit Tegal Panjang village in Sukabumi district in west Java late on Saturday after a particularly heavy downpour, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

“We found all 12 bodies,” he said in an update, revising the earlier death toll of 10 and two missing.

He said heavy rain caused a cliff to collapse and hit the village, burying 11 houses.

Landslides triggered by heavy rains and floods are common in tropical Indonesia during the rainy season.

The BNPB estimates around half the country’s 250 million population lives in areas prone to landslides.

The vast Indonesian archipelago is one of the most natural disaster-prone nations on Earth, and is also frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Agence France-Presse

Rains hamper Sri Lanka mudslide tragedy search effort

Yahoo – AFP, Ishara Kodikara, 30 Oct 2014

A road damaged after a landslide caused by heavy monsoon rains in Koslanda

village in central Sri Lanka on October 30, 2014 (AFP Photo/Ishara S. Kodikara)

Koslanda (Sri Lanka) (AFP) - Heavy rains disrupted a massive search Thursday for scores of people feared buried in a landslide on a Sri Lankan tea estate, further dimming prospects of finding anyone alive.

An estimated 100 people are still listed as missing, according to the national Disaster Management Centre (DMC), a day after dozens of tin-roofed homes were buried under tonnes of mud, with only a handful of bodies recovered so far.

Hundreds of troops suspended their work with rains threatening more mudslides at the plantation in central Sri Lanka.

A government-run relief camp at Poonagalla

 on October 30, 2014 after a deadly landslide

 on a Sri Lankan tea estate that buried

scores of tin-roofed homes under tonnes

of mud (AFP Photo/Ishara S. Kodikara)

"We are suspending the search operation because it is not safe to work in this rain," the region's top military officer, Major General Mano Perera, told reporters.

"We hope to start work tomorrow morning if the weather improves."

Perera said they failed to find any survivors or bodies from the disaster site on Thursday. He did not hold out much hope of finding survivors as the site was covered in tonnes of mud.

"There were no concrete structures which could have acted as air traps for victims to survive," he added.

Shop keeper Vevaratnam Marathamuttu said he ran when tonnes of earth came crashing down the hill on Wednesday morning, fearing there had been an explosion.

"I thought it was some sort of a bomb blast and fled from my shop," Marathamuttu said. "I saved my life because I ran away."

Truck driver Sinniah Yogarajan, 48, said there was "no point in my living" after five members of his family along with his friends were buried in the disaster.

"The entire neighbourhood has vanished. Now there is a river of mud where our houses once stood," Yogarajan told AFP at a nearby school where survivors were sheltering.

"The soldiers are trying their best but every time they scoop out some of the mud the hole then just gets filled up again with more mud."

There had been fears of an even higher toll when officials initially said that up to 300 people were unaccounted for.

But the government's disaster management minister said most of those who were classified as missing were later found at work, with the DMC saying at least 227 people survived because they were out of their homes when the tragedy struck.

Some 75 children were already at their school nearby when their homes were buried, officials said, adding that they were checking on reports that at least two children had lost both parents.

Fears of more landslides

President Mahinda Rajapakse visited the disaster area in Koslanda on Thursday, speaking with survivors sheltering at two schools. He later inspected the Meeriyabedda tea plantation, which bore the full brunt of the mudslide.

During the day, soldiers were seen clearing debris from the mud, as curious onlookers as well as survivors whose relatives were missing gathered at the site despite appeals to stay away.

Sri Lankan residents watch search and rescue operations at the site of a landslide

 caused by heavy monsoon rains in Koslanda village in central Sri Lanka on

October 30, 2014 (AFP Photo/Ishara S. Kodikara)

Labourer Arumugam Thyagarajah, 28, said his six-year-old daughter was washed away in the mudslide as she walked with her older brother to school.

At least 1,200 people from nearby tea plantations have also been evacuated from their homes amid fears that ongoing rains could lead to more mudslides, officials said adding that more people were expected at relief centres.

Sri Lanka's picturesque hill region is famed for producing Ceylon tea, and has become a major tourist attraction with visitors able to stay on the plantations.

The number of homes destroyed was revised down to 63 on Thursday from 150 given earlier by the DMC.

"We had difficulty communicating with our officers and sometimes rumours were reported to us as facts," the Colombo-based DMC spokesman Sarath Kumara told AFP.

An office where village records were maintained was also destroyed in the disaster, causing problems for the authorities in compiling reliable casualty figures.

Sri Lanka, a tropical island at the foot of India, is prone to weather-related disasters -- especially during the monsoon season when the rains are often welcomed by farmers.

If the death toll does reach three figures, the disaster would be the country's worst since the December 2004 tsunami when 31,000 people died.

Related Article:

There were warning signs ahead of Sri Lanka mudslide: survivors

Landslide damages four houses, kills villager

Antara News, Wednesday, November 24, 2010 17:07 WIB

Ngamprah, W Java (ANTARA News) - A landslide damaged four houses in Sariwangi village, Ngamprah subdistrict, Bandung Barat district, West Java, on Tuesday night, killing a local resident.

The dead victim was identified as Ayub Nurendah alias Endang, 25. His body was found catching on a tree on Wednesday at 06.00 AM local time, a local military officer, Captain Roedi, said.

Endang, 25,was with Dadang Jumhana inside a house that he rented from Gandi but Jumhana could rush out the house in time while Endang failed to escape when a ten-meter-high cliff behind the house suddenly collapsed on Tuesday at 08.00 PM, he said.

Shortly after being found on Wednesday morning, Endang`s body was then brought to Hasan Sadikin general hospital in Bandung city for postmortem checks, he said.

"We have been cleaning the landslide materials covering the village`s road to get access to the four damaged houses," he said.

To support the rescue and cleaning activities, Captain Roedi said about 100 people were involved.

Last February, a deadly landslide also hit a plantation area in West Java.

The natural disaster that occurred inside PT Chakra`s tea plantation area in Tenjolaya village, Pasirjambu subdistrict, killed tens of people.

Among the discovered bodies were three infants and 17 women.

Certain parts of West Java province remain vulnerable to landslides.

Last October, 50-meter-long section of Ciganea-Sukatani rail track was buried by landslide materials, paralyzing flows of Argo Parahyangan train serving Bandung-Jakarta routes.

The landslide with the height of three up to five meters hit the rail track of Pasiripis block in Mekargalih village, Jatiluhur sub-district following several hours of heavy rainfalls.

Never give up

The Jakarta Post  |  Mon, 03/02/2009 11:55 AM  
 

 Two residents row a wooden boat to transport their rice crops in flooded Tiyak village, Kanor district, Bojonegoro regency. At least 49 villages in 11 districts in the regency were inundated over the past three days due to the overflowing Bengawan Solo River. JP/ID Nugroho

Through the barricade

The Jakarta Post, Wonosobo, Central Java | Sun, 03/01/2009 10:10 AM 

Farmers wait their turn to pass a road connecting Wonosobo-Dieng-Banjarnegara, in Setieng village, Wonosobo, Central Java. The road collapsed following a landslide in the area on Saturday, severely hampering farmers from going to the market to sell their produce. Antara/Anis Efizudin

Decimated

The Jakarta Post   |  Sat, 02/21/2009 11:22 AM 

 
A man looks for his belongings on Friday in the rubble of his house on Jl. Indrakila, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. A landslide ravaged the area after heavy rains in the city on Thursday evening, wounding three residents. JP/Nurni Sulaiman

Floods Damage 50,000 Hectares Of Paddy

The Jakarta Globe, Arti Ekawati, February 10, 2009

Just a little over a month into 2009, some 50,000 hectares of rice have already been completely destroyed by floods this year, exceeding the national annual average in recent years , the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday. 

And the rainy season is not yet over. 

“About 40,000 hectares per year were affected in each of the last five years,” said Sutarto Alimoeso, the ministry’s director general of food crops. “But this year, we’ve already lost some 50,000 hectares.” 

Sutarto warned that as the rainy season still had at least another month to go, the eventual losses could eventually turn out to be even more severe. He added that the monetary value of the losses had yet to be calculated. 

The worst floods have occurred in Aceh Province and West Kalimantan Province, as well as important rice-growing centers throughout the island of Java. 

Minister Anton Apriyantono said on Monday that a total of 228,000 hectares of rice had been affected by floods, and that the ministry was providing farmers with assistance in the form of seeds and fertilizer for the next planting season. 

“We’ve had fertilizer and seeds ready for distribution because we get floods almost every year,” Anton said at a hearing with the House of Representatives’ agriculture commission. 

The abnormally wet weather is being caused by La Nina, and is expected to give rise to above-average rainfall through March, said the National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, or BMG. 

La Nina is a weather phenomenon that produces below-normal temperatures in South Pacific waters, leading to above-normal rainfall in the country. 

However, Anton said the floods would not endanger the national production target of 63.5 million tons of unhusked rice this year, or disrupt planned rice exports, as the ministry had already factored the potential for flooding into its estimates. 

To anticipate the worst, he said, the government had set aside 30,000 tons of rice seeds for affected farmers — enough for the planting of over 1.5 million hectares of rice. 

Arifin Junaidi, chairman of the House agriculture commission, urged the government to simplify the procedures that farmers needed to go through to get fertilizer and seeds. 

After flooding and crop destruction, he said, it usually takes more than six months for government assistance to find its way into the hands of farmers. This is because farmers first must report their needs to their local administrations, which then forward the requests to the ministry. 

“Given the length of time involved, farmers often end up missing the next planting season,” he said. 

Farmers in the main rice-growing hubs can expect two to three harvests per year. Planting occurs between January and March, and June and September. 

Arifin said it would be better for the ministry to directly calculate the needs of farmers based on its assessment of crop damage. 

“The ministry should directly give aid to farmers,” he said. “It would be so much more efficient.”

Most parts of Semarang inundated, airport closed

Suherdjoko, THE JAKARTA POST, SEMARANG | Mon, 02/09/2009 9:30 AM

Waterway: Residents of Karang Binangun district in Lamongan, East Java, ride on a boat as they navigate a flooded alley near their homes on Sunday. Heavy rains and an overflow from the Bengawan Solo River have inundated at least 55 homes in the area. ANTARA/SYAIFUL ARIF

Floods sparked by torrential rains that began Saturday evening have inundated most parts of Semarang, Central Java, including many densely-populated residential areas in the city.

Water levels reached between 50 centimeters and 1.5 meters, paralyzing road and rail networks. The Ahmad Yani airport was likewise forced to close as its runway was submerged.

The heavy rains caused a landslide in the Bukit Talang area of Bedanduwur, Gajah Mungkur district, killing Heri, a local resident.

Hundreds of people living nearby were forced to evacuate for fear of more landslides.

“I’m fortunate as my son Deva was freed. He had been trapped in his room by mud which reached up to his waist,” Yuli Asmanto, the owner a rented house which was damaged by the landslide, said.

The flooding also affected Sawah Besar in Gayamsari district, which usually suffers during the rainy season.

Most residents were forced to evacuate as the waist high water levels showed no signs of abating. The rains stopped for a brief period on Sunday morning but began again in the afternoon.

Many residents were seen bringing their valuable belongings with them in their cars.

Members of the search and rescue team had been deployed with their rubber dinghies, while police officers spread throughout the city, preventing the residents from entering dangerous areas.

Waters began to rise in Lamper early Sunday morning. “The water starting entering the house at 2 a.m. Even though I have raised the floor by 50 centimeters, the flood reached the house. But the next morning the water had subsided,” Yudi Wijanarko, who lives on Jl. Rambutan in Lamper, said.

The flood has totally paralyzed the Ahmad Yani Airport. General Manger of state airport management company PT Angkasa Pura, I Bambang Suwastono, explained that the rain forced the managed to close the airport all day Sunday.

A 13 centimeter deep puddle covered about 500 meters of the runway.

Train services also came to a halt. Spokesman for state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api’s Semarang operation, Warsono, said that schedules of 10 trains were affected.

Seven of the 10 trains were rerouted to southern lines, while the other three were trapped in the middle of the journeys, he said.

“Several trains coming from the west were trapped in Tegal, but managed to be rerouted on to the Purwokerto lane to Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, the trains coming from the east were rerouted to go south through Solo and Yogyakarta,” Warsono said.

Warsono further explained that he did not want to drop passengers in small stations because they would not be able to take other alternative means of transport, as road networks were also flooded.

In Kaliwungu, police were forced to stop motorists from entering Semarang from the west because most roads were inundated.

“We actually wanted to meet with my friend, but we were trapped in Kaliwungu. We had to take a U turn and go home,” Awaludin, from Pekalongan, said.

Child drowns as massive floods hit Lampung

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung | Sat, 12/20/2008 12:11 PM 

 

TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT: Heavy rains eroded the hill on which the elite housing complex of Bukit Rasuna sits in Bandarlampung, Lampung Province, causing mud and stone to fall on areas downhill. (JP/Oyos Saroso)

A 3-year-old child drowned following two consecutive days of massive floods that were triggered by torrential rains in Bandarlampung city, Lampung. 

Besides engulfing a number of residential areas up to roof height, floods also swamped major thoroughfares, with water and mud up to 1.5 meters deep, paralyzing the city until midnight on Thursday. 

In Kupangteba, North Telukbetung, 3-year-old Febriansyah (son of Sayuti, 43) was found dead 7 kilometers away at Lampung Bay beach after the boy had been swept away by a flash flood. 

Floods in Central Tanjungkarang district also inundated the Abdoel Moeloek General Hospital after the Way Awi River swelled bursting its banks and an embankment separating the river and the hospital. 

Hospital authorities were forced to evacuate patients to other wards. 

A printing shop in Pasir Gintung, Central Tanjungkarang district, was also flooded. 

"Water suddenly rushed into the shop. I didn't have time to save the documents and printing materials. My printing machine was also damaged by the water," said Agus Sahlan, 32. 

Two hours of heavy rains in Bandarlampung on Thursday afternoon eroded the hill at the Bukit Rasuna upscale housing estate, sending mud gushing into areas below. 

The area had been an urban catchment and protected forest area before it was developed into an elite housing complex. 

Three homes collapsed and hundreds of others in the area, including a junior high school, were covered in mud. 

A retaining wall, built by the developer, which could not withstand the floods, collapsed and sent large rocks rolling down Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said. Traffic was disrupted as the road became filled with rocks and mud. 

No casualties were reported in the incident, but residents remain worried of a recurrence. 

"There are still many boulders on top of the hill. We fear mud and rocks could hit our homes in the heavy rains tonight," said a Pengajaran resident, Rosanah, 56. 

Another resident, M. Faqih, 45, said flood water and mud had swamped his home at 4.40 p.m. on Thursday. 

"After the rain and water subsided, my house was filled with 20 cm of mud," Faqih said. 

Faqih was unsure why Bandarlampung Mayor Eddy Sutrisno had given approval to develop the protected area. 

"Every time it rains heavily in Bandarlampung, we become worried that bigger floods will come. We demand the housing development project stop. If not, we will force the developers to stay at our homes," Faqih said. 

Last October, residents and activists from environmental groups held a protest against the housing development because they said the clearing of an urban forest would damage catchment areas that are relied upon by thousands of residents in Bandarlampung. 

Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (Walhi) Lampung chapter director, Hendrawan, said the Wednesday and Thursday floods in Bandarlampung were the worst the area had seen for 23 years. 

"Bandarlampung is apparently prone to floods every wet season, but never as bad as this," he said. 

"The flooding this year is worse and more dangerous than the floods in Jakarta because Bandarlampung is surrounded by hills which are susceptible to erosion and landslides." 

Hendrawan said the Bandarlampung floods were the result of a poor drainage system and the destruction of forests in the area.

Floods threaten rice fields in East Java, West Kalimantan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 12/17/2008 6:21 PM  

Floodwaters are covering hundreds of hectares of rice fields in Bojonegoro, East Java, and Sambas, West Kalimantan, following incessant downpours over the past several days. 

"We've got 107 hectares of 10-to-20-day-old padis in Sukorejo Village alone," village chief Budi Suprayitno told Antara news agency Wednesday. Flooding rose to 50 centimeters, wrecking some 60 houses, he said. 

Local farmers are worried that the newly planted rice shoots will spoil if the flood stays for three days.  "If the paddies are spoiled, the farmers have to replant and look for fertilizer again," Budi said. 

Some 24 streams of the Bengawan Solo River, the largest river in Java, have been reported full or overflowing. 

Separately, in Pipitteja village in Sambas, 250 kilometers north of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, water levels up to 150 centimeters have compromised many hectares of rice fields and riverbank settlements. 

The floodwaters have also encroached on rubber plantations, dozens of houses, and two high schools, one villager Jar'in said Wednesday. 

Students at Pipitteja's public junior high (SMPN 3) were forced to take their midsemester exams in the flooded school building. 

Indonesia is currently in the rainy season and a number of provinces, including Aceh, Central Sulawesi, South Kalimantan and West Java have experienced significant flooding due to the increased rainfall. (dre)

Dozens feared dead following Cianjur landslide

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Cianjur | Fri, 11/14/2008 2:11 PM  

As many as 15 residents of Nyalindung in Cianjur regency, West Java, are feared dead after their homes were buried by a landslide on Thursday evening resulting from recent torrential rain. 

The landslide damaged scores of houses, but most residents managed to evacuate in time. 

Around 100 police officers, military personnel, volunteers and residents were at the scene attempting to manually evacuate the remaining residents. Their efforts faced difficulties because necessary heavy equipment could not be brought to the isolated area. 

"All of the landslides occur in high soil shifting zones," head of the Bandung Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center, Surono, said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com on Friday. 

Surono added that the West Java towns South Cianjur, South Garut and Sukabumi were at high risk of similar incidents. 

"We implore residents living in these high-risk areas to be on alert and to be ready to evacuate immediately upon warning," Surono said.

Toll from flood in Situbondo rises to 11, transportation frozen

Wahyoe Boedwardhana and Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Situbondo, Kupang

The death toll from major flooding in the East Java city of Situbondo rose to 10 on Sunday, as authorities scrambled to assist victims and reroute traffic around the affected area.

Rain-triggered flooding has damaged Parengian Bridge in Panarukan district, about 4 kilometers from downtown Situbondo, paralyzing land transportation between the provincial capital Surabaya and Banyuwangi.

In addition to the 10 confirmed dead, one person is reported missing. About 1,700 houses have been destroyed and another 1,400 houses have suffered damage.

The dead have been identified as Akhma, 75; Amin Kholik, 55; Mahya, 65; Joyo, 70; Siya, 70; Sumo, 70; Misraya, 50; Jumadi, 65; Nasipah, 50; and Marwiyah, 50.

"The missing person has been identified as Imam, 60, Marwiyah's husband. He is said to have been swept away during the flooding," Solichin, head of the Situbondo Health Office, said.

Days of torrential rain caused the Sampeyan River, which runs through the heart of Situbondo, to burst its banks, causing massive flooding over the weekend.

The damage to Parengian Bridge, which was built in 1990, has forced officials to detour traffic between Surabaya and Banyuwangi to the south, through Probolinggo and Jember, the head of the East Java chapter of the Land Transportation Owners Association, Mustafa, said Sunday.

Mustafa said the detour forced drivers to travel an additional 80 kilometers. At least 200 buses pass through Situbondo on normal days, he said.

"The damaged sections of the bridge are being filled with sand and stone. Hopefully by tomorrow everything will be back to normal," said Yoyok Mulyadi, head of the Situbondo Public Works Office.

Most flood victims said they had yet to receive any assistance from the local administration. Many victims have been reduced to standing on the side of the road asking for handouts.

"We haven't gotten any help since yesterday. I need money to buy food as I haven't eaten since last night. All our belongings were swept away by the flood," said 9-year-old Tri Sutrisno.

In East Nusa Tenggara, four people have died in flooding caused by days of heavy rain.

Ten houses and nearly 1,000 hectares of paddy in the regencies of North Timor Tengah, Sikka, Kupang, Nagekeo and Belu have also been damaged, according to the local disaster mitigation office.

"The four victims were swept away when several nearby rivers overflowed," disaster office secretary Sentianus Medi said.

The four victims have been identified as Imelda Wea and Ros Firgina, both residents of Boawae district in Nagekeo; Marsina Bute, a resident of Tanowawo district in Sikka; and Lusia Iri, a resident of Wulanggitang district in East Flores.

Karel Yani Mbuik, a member of the East Nusa Tenggara Legislative Council, said deforestation on surrounding mountains played a role in the floods.

"The local administration has to speed up reforestation on the mountains and intensify supervision to prevent residents from illegally cutting down trees," he said.

President calls for continued search for missing landslide victims

Karanganyar, C Java (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered Karanganyar district head Rina Iriani to tell rescue workers to continue the search for three dead flood and landslide victims which have gone missing since December 25.

"Continue the search for the three missing dead victims," President Yudhoyono said in a meeting with Karanganyar subdistrict officials and village heads here on Monday.

On the occasion, the head of state was accompanied by his wife, the First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto, and Central Java Governor Ali Mufiz.

The president also ordered Rina Iriani to tell medical workers to give effective medical treatment to the flood and landslide victims in Karanganyar district, Central Java.

Rina Iriani reported to the president earlier that the floods and landslides in Karanganyar had claimed 62 lives and destroyed 993 houses.

Meanwhile, Yudhoyono reminded Karanganyar people of Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)`s report that heavy rainfall would continue to hit the area until February next year.

"We have to remain alert because BMG predicted that heavy rains will continue until January and February next year," President Yudhoyono said, adding that he received the report of floods and landslides in Karanganyar one day after they hit the district on December 26.

Choppers deployed to evacuate flood victims

Indra Harsaputra and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Bojonegoro, Cepu

The East Java search and rescue team is deploying three choppers and scores of rubber boats to evacuate stranded flood victims in the Bojonegoro regency, which is predominantly under water.

The SAR team's operation division head, Hernanto, said Sunday that deploying helicopters was the best option available because 90 percent of the Bojonegoro region of some 2,384 square kilometers was still inundated with water from the overflowing Bengawan Solo River.

The situation had hampered rescue operations, with limited numbers of volunteers and equipment, Hernanto said.

"But we will do our best. We will continue to airdrop food to people who cannot be evacuated yet," Hernanto told The Jakarta Post.

Bojonegoro is one of the two worst-hit regencies in the recent floods in East Java. The other is Ngawi regency.

Both Bojonegoro and Ngawi are situated next to the Bengawan Solo river and flooding is an annual occurrence in both towns. This year's floods, however, have been said to be the worst ever.

Bojonegoro Regent Mohammad Santoso said thousands of flood victims had been evacuated, many to the town's main square.

"This is the worst flooding we have ever had. From our part, we have set aside Rp 900 million (about US$98,000) to help flood victims. Our focus now is to evacuate those still trapped in their homes," Santoso said.

Ngawi disaster mitigation division head Mohammad Shodiq said this year's flooding had submerged a total of 60,000 homes and displaced more than 120,000 people.

"We don't know when the waters will recede," he said.

The flooding has slowed transport between Solo in Central Java and Surabaya with public transport rerouted on small roads to bypass Ngawi.

Outside Ngawi and Bojonegoro, the overflowing Bengawan Solo river, stretching some 600 kilometers from Solo, has also inundated several other regencies including Cepu in Central Java, Gresik and Tuban, both in East Java.

Local governments in affected areas have built makeshift camps to accommodate displaced people, including one in Cepu.

"We cannot go home yet. The water is still 2 meters deep in our village. Many of our fellow villagers have complained of various illnesses," said Soleh, a displaced person from Balun village at an evacuation camp in Cepu.

As of Sunday, a total of 10 people had been killed in the floods.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday visited his hometown of Pacitan in East Java to inaugurate a number of projects, and not to visit flood victims, and met East Java Governor Imam Utomo to discuss flood mitigation measures.

Yudhoyono left Pacitan on Sunday afternoon for Sukoharjo in Central Java, to see the flooded areas firsthand.

Floods grow worse, search intensified

Slamet Susanto and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta

Flooding in Surakarta in Central Java and its surrounding areas worsened due to heavy rain Friday as rescuers intensified efforts to search for people still believed to be buried by Wednesday's landslide in Tawangmangu in the adjacent city of Karanganyar.

As flooding continued to widen it submerged thousands of houses, raising the number of evacuees from about 26,000 in Surakarta alone to about 31,818 on Friday afternoon.

Thousands of people are living in makeshift tents and a number of public buildings, including Solo City Hall and Manahan Sports Stadium, mosques and other buildings unaffected by the flooding, which is up to three meters deep in some areas.

Purnomo Subagyo, a spokesman for the Solo city administration, said flooding had submerged six subdistricts in Jebres district, four subdistricts in Pasar Kliwon district and one subdistrict in Serengan district.

"The flooding was caused by the overflowing of the huge Gajah Mungkur dam in Wonogiri," he said.

From the landslide location in Tawangmangu, Haru Pratama Kristianto, head of the Karanganyar natural disaster mitigation section reported Friday they had recovered 66 bodies from the thick mud, fewer than the 71 expected earlier.

On Thursday it was reported that as many as 88 people were believed to have been killed in landslides in seven districts in Karanganyar. The figure included 17 bodies recovered in the nearby city of Wonogiri.

Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto told a press conference in Surakarta on Friday that in order to anticipate overflow from several rivers in Central and East Java, the government would build dozens of small-scale dams next year.

"The construction of the small-scale dams is expected to help reduce the rate of water flow along big rivers," Joko said.

The dams, he said, would be built near small rivers heading into major waterways. "The master plan for the dam construction has already been prepared," the minister said.

He added that the construction of the project would start next year, although he would not say how much it would cost or when it would be completed.

"This deals with a large amount of funds which cannot be set now and disbursed tomorrow," he said.

Two of the dams will be built near Pacitan and Ponorogo in East Java, said Ivan Nursyiwan, the director general of water resources.

From Cepu district in Blora regency, Central Java, it was reported that thousands of other people were also forced to evacuate due to the overflowing Bengawan Solo river, which had swamped their homes with up to two meters of water.

"This flooding is the biggest ever to hit the area since 1993. Our area floods every year, but now is really the biggest one so we are forced to flee," said Yugiono, 51, a resident of Balun hamlet in Cepu.

Budi Santoso, 29, another resident, said he was rushed to save his family has the waters rose. "The most important thing is to save ourselves first," he said.

Suherdjoko contributed to this article from Cepu, Central Java.

Landslides kill 61 people in Central Java

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (AP): Hours of heavy rain triggered landslides Wednesday that killed at least 61 people in Central Java, media reports said.

The deaths occurred in several districts on the main island of Java after more than 12 hours of nonstop rain, el-Shinta radio station reported. Metro TV put the death toll at 59. Both said additional villagers were missing.

Authorities could not immediately be reached to confirm the reports.

Metro TV reported that rescue officials were trying to reach the scene of the landslides, 500 kilometers east of the capital Jakarta.

The report said there was little chance of getting heavy lifting equipment to affected areas because of roads blocked by landslides.

No other details were immediately available.

Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous regions and near fertile flood plains close to rivers.

Some environmentalists and government officials say deforestation is often a factor in the disasters, which they contend loosens soils on mountainsides.

Farmers receive seedlings after floods

TANGERANG (Jakarta Post) : Tangerang administration handed out seedlings for free to farmers whose rice fields have been flooded in the past three days due to heavy rain and tides in Patraman and Kramat Paku Haji village in Kresek district.

"We had allocated some of the budget to help farmers who failed to harvest their rice plants because of the flood," Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar was quoted as saying by Antara on Tuesday.

He said the agriculture and husbandry subagency had been registering farmers to receive the assistance.

Hundreds of hectares of rice fields inundated in Central Java

Semarang, Central Java (ANTARA News) - Incessant heavy rains triggered flooding which inundated hundreds of hectares of rice fields in Grobogan District over the past few days.

Floodwaters reaching a height of between 30 and 50 centimeters submerged fields of 40-day paddy plants.

"If only the flooding was just for one day, it would have been fine. But, my rice fields have been submerged for three days, so most likely the paddy would be spoiled," Triono, a local farmer of Getasrejo village, Grobogan subdistrict, said on Monday.

Floods hit Grobogan, Brati, Klambu, Godong, Purwodadi and Penawangan subdistricts in Central Java in the current rainy season.

In Mayahan village, Tawangharjo subdistrict, floodwaters inundated houses as Lusi River overflowed.

"The water level of Lusi River has been rising since the past four days and we have reminded the people to be on alert," Subekan, a Menduran resident, Brati subdistrict, said.

A house located in the bank of Lusi River collapsed due to the bank erosion in Menduran village.

According to the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA)`s National Weather Service (NWS) recently, Indonesia will continue to experience above-average precipitation under the impact of La Nina in the period December 2007 - February 2008.

Gorontalo floods force thousands of people to evacuate

Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - Floods, triggered by days of torrential rains, inundated or heavily damaged thousands of houses at ten sub-districts in the city of Gorontalo and forcing thousands of people to evacuate on Tuesday.

Official at flood mitigation post command said that as of Tuesday morning, around 2,015 people had been evacuated to a number of safer locations.

The official said that starting from 2 a.m. on Tuesday, flood waters had swept through ten sub-districts, namely Heledulaa Selatan, Moodu, Heledulaa Utara, Bugis, Ipilo, Tenda, Padebuolo, Biawu, Dembe II, and Tenilo.

He added that the local government had distributed 100 boxes of instant noodle and three tons of rice to the displaced people at the refugee shelters.

Rescue workers, assisted by police and military officials as well as volunteers, joined together to evacuate the flood victims from their homes to at least 10 temporary shelters across Gorontalo city.

Mimi, one of the refugees, said she was reluctant to evacuate but the flood waters in her house rose slowly and on Monday night and on Tuesday morning it went up to about 50 centimeters high and forced her to flee to safer area.

As black clouds remained drifting lazily overhead on Tuesday, local Meteorology and Geophysics Agency reported that heavy rain would continue to occur throughout Gorontalo in the next two days.

Flash floods hit thousands of houses in North Aceh

Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Flash floods have inundated thousands of houses in 19 sub districts in North Aceh District, Aceh Province, since Friday, following incessant rains over the past few days.

The flood waters in a number of residential areas in North Aceh reached heights of up to one meter, Bukhari, an official of the Aceh provincial social affairs office, said here on Saturday.

The worst affected areas were Matangkuli and Langkahan where a number of residents were forced to evacuate themselves to safer places reas and schools were closed, he said.

Three bridges in Bukit Linteung, Langkahan sub district, were destroyed by the floods, and tens of inhabitants of Pateng Siribee were forced to flee their homes in boats.

Several villages in Aceh`s eastern coastal areas were also flooded such as Bireuen District, Lhokseumawe, East Aceh and Kuala Simpang.

Floods have affected East Aceh since last Wednesday (Dec. 5) evening.

Flood waters up to one meter high submerged houses in Pantee Bidari, Simpang Jernih, Ranto Peureulak, Julok, Nurussalam, Idi Tunmong, Banda Alam, Darul Aman, Peudawa, Peureulak Barat, Peureulak Timur and Sungai Raya.

However, there were no immediate reports of casualties in the floods.