H

eavy rains that began on Thursday evening have triggered floods in a number of regions in Sumatra and Java.

Thousands of homes across North Sumatra were engulfed on Friday by floods up to a meter high following two days of heavy rain.

North Sumatra Deputy Governor T. Erry Nuradi said on Friday that he had urged regional heads whose regions were hit by floods to lose no time in dealing with the situation, especially with regard to those displaced by floods.

'€œWe have asked regional heads to immediately deal with the situation, rather than waiting for the number of victims to multiply,'€ said Erry.

In Medan, floods inundated residential areas in Tanah Enam Ratus subdistrict, Medan Marelan district, Mabar Hilir subdistrict in Medan Deli district and Martubung subdistrict in Medan Labuhan district.

Martubung subdistrict was the worst hit area, with around 500 homes inundated up to a meter high. As a result, access to the subdistrict is cut.

Residents in the area have preferred to stay at home until the water engulfing their houses recedes. A number of schools in the area were closed, as the floods did not recede until noon.

Rosmiati, of Martubung, said the flood had engulfed her home early on Friday. '€œI didn'€™t go to work because my house is still swamped by a meter of water,'€ Rosmiati told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The floods also prevented children from attending school.

In Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, floods since early Friday engulfed Sampali and Saentis villages in Percut Sei Tuan district and Pematang Johar village in Labuhan Deli district. A number of villagers were forced to flee their homes in the face of the floods.

'€œThe floods began at 12:30 a.m. We were forced to evacuate to safer places as water as high as a meter was coming into our homes,'€ said Saentis resident Nurlin.

The water levels in Sampali and Seantis villages began to ebb at noon. So far, the government has not provided any aid.

In Langkat regency, North Sumatra, water from the overflowing Wampu River engulfed several villages in Stabat and Tanjung Pura districts.

Eleven villages in Cilacap regency, Central Java, were also engulfed by floodwater from 30 centimeters to 1 meter deep as a result of torrential rain from Thursday evening until early Friday.

A community leader in Cilacap'€™s Kedungreja village, Mardiyo Abdul Azis, said floods had swamped the villages of Tinggarjaya, Sidareja, Gunungreja. Sidamulya, Sudagaran, Margasari and Tegalsari in Sidareja district.

Panebasan hamlet in Ciklapa village, Bumireja district, especially areas located along the banks of the Cibereum River and Bangunreja in Kedungreja district, as well as a part of Wringinharjo village in Gandrungmangu district, were also engulfed by floods.

'€œThey are flood-prone areas. Hundreds of homes have been inundated there. The worst hit was Panebasan hamlet, Ciklapa village, Kedungreja district,'€ Mardiyo said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He added that the floods were due to Thursday'€™s heavy rain.

Cilacap Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) officer Agus Sudaryanto said the floods had inundated homes but not to the extent that residents were forced to evacuate.

He expressed his hope that there would be no more heavy rain in Sidareja and that no embankment in the hilly north of the district would give way.

Sidareja and surrounding areas are part of a concave zone and prone to flooding, even in the absence of heavy rain, as floods are triggered by the bursting Cibeureum River.