The Code River, which runs through Yogyakarta, overflowed Monday evening, damaging bridges, and submerging hundreds of houses and forcing thousands to flee.

Heavy rainfall from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday in the upper areas of Boyong River flushed out the thousands of tons of volcanic material that had accumulated in the river over the past few weeks during Mt. Merapi’s recent eruptions. The mixture of mud, volcanic material and water then flowed into the Code River, which bisects Yogyakarta.

The flood damaged Jogobaru bridge, which links Ledok Kotabaru and Jogoyudan. It also caused cracks to form in two major bridges — Gondolayu and RS Sardjito, which were subsequently closed.

“Due to the cracks, we decided to close Gondolayu and RS Sardjito bridges,” Yogyakarta Police deputy chief Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said.

The damage and the closure of the two bridges caused major traffic snarls at several other bridges.

Traffic congestion was worst along major roads Jl. Monjali, Jl. Kaliurang and other roads running parallel to the river Code.

“We will check the condition of the bridges after the flood subsides,” Tjiptono said, adding that the river had brought with it large stones and tree trunks.

“We will closely monitor the flooding and continue to urge residents to flee,” Tjiptono added.

In Kedok, Kotabaru district, houses were inundated in water 2 meters high, forcing the residents to flee to the nearby Syuhada mosque.

The flooding destroyed and swept away three houses in Jogoyudan village.

Hundreds of other houses in Bintaran and those along the river’s banks were also inundated and residents were evacuated.

“We heard a loud noise at about 5 p.m. and later saw water overflow from the river Code,” Bambang KSR, a resident of Bintaran, said.

The flow of detritus submerged dozens of houses in Pandean and Ngoto villages in Bantul.

“We were ready to anticipate the flow of lava,” Bambang said.

Earlier as heavy rain fell in higher areas near the mountain, residents there sent warnings over the radio of a potential danger of flooding.

“As soon as the rainfall began, the flow of mud forced local residents to evacuate voluntarily,” he said.
The residents took refuge at several public buildings or neighbors’ houses.

Most of the inundated houses were those along the river’s banks.

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