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.

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