Floods continued to engulf areas across the country on Sunday, inundating thousands of houses and forcing many residents to take shelter.

Heavy rain that fell on Cilacap regency, Central Java, for three consecutive days caused flooding in at least 20 villages in numerous districts, leaving up to 50 centimeters of water in houses and damaging thousands of hectares of rice fields.

No fatalities or evacuations due to flooding have been reported in the hard-hit districts of Kroya, Nusawungu, Sidareja, Kedungreja, Karangpucung, Gandrungmangu, Kawunganten and Majenang.

'€œIn Sidareja, five villages were inundated including areas around the district administration office,'€ Cilacap administration spokesperson Ansor Basuki said, adding that some 2,000 houses were affected because of flooding in Sidareja.

Ansor blamed the flooding on the numerous rivers in the regency that overflowed due to the heavy downpour in the area.

He also said most of the flooded rice fields had just been planted and that replanting would definitely be required.

'€œI just planted the field three days ago. Flooding hit the following night and up to the present it is still flooded,'€ Dulrohman, a farmer from Sikampuh subdistrict in Kroya, told The Jakarta Post, Sunday.

He said it would be difficult to save the plants as they had just been sown and had been covered by floodwater for too long. '€œJust a night of flooding can decay the plants,'€ said Dulrohman.

In Mujur subdistrict, up to 75 centimeters of floodwater covered a 150-meter section of the Buntu-Kroya highway on the border of Cilacap and Banyumas regencies.

'€œWhat a pity. Many of the passing vehicles were trapped in the flood and had to be pushed manually,'€ Ratmini of Mujur said.

Meanwhile, scores of trucks and motorcycles were seen queuing along Jl. Jembatan Kembung in Pematang Duku subdistrict, Bengkalis district, Riau, where a section of road was submerged.

Damage to the road due to the development of a new bridge next to an existing bridge further worsened traffic conditions, making the road slippery and difficult to pass.

Local resident Adi, who directs traffic, especially big trucks, said the overflowing river that submerged the bridge had made him afraid to cross it.

'€œWe will wait until the water subsides. The rising water and damaged road endanger the vehicles,'€ Adi said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Meanwhile, Bandung Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded that 4,900 residents of Baleendah and Dayeuhkolot districts had taken shelter at 18 locations due to floodwaters that engulfed their houses since Saturday.

BPBD acting head Marlan said floodwaters inundated about 7,500 homes in the two districts as well as the district of Bojongsoang.

Tribunnews.com reported that the floods were still affecting Bojongsoang as of Sunday due to the overflowing Citarum River.

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