Dangerous playground: A group of children play with rafts made from banana tree stalks in the middle of flooded rice fields in Klumprit, Cilacap on Tuesday
span class="caption">Dangerous playground: A group of children play with rafts made from banana tree stalks in the middle of flooded rice fields in Klumprit, Cilacap on Tuesday. The rafts, popularly known as "getek", are usually used to help residents cross through flooded areas. (JP/Agus Maryono)
The flood disaster in the southern part of Central Java has spread to Banyumas regency, hitting villages in its three districts, namely Kemranjen, Sumpiuh, and Tambak.
Flood waters inundated hundreds of homes and thousands of hectares of paddy fields in the areas on Tuesday.
Banyumas Disaster Mitigation Agency executive chairman Prasetyo Budi Widodo said the flooding currently affecting three districts of the regency had often occurred in the rainy season as rivers could no longer accommodate the runoff.
'Up until now, no resident has been evacuated. However, we consider the flooding is not yet at a dangerous level. Floodwater inundating homes in the regency is still less than 50 centimeters in depth. The worst affected areas are paddy fields as farmers have just started the planting season. All rice plants are inundated,' Prasetyo told the press on Tuesday.
The flood-hit villages include Buntu and Grujugan in Kemranjen district. Kemranjen is one of three districts, including Sumpiuh and Tambak, affected by flooding. Floodwaters inundated at least 16 homes in Nusadadi village in Sumpiuh and 34 homes in Plangkapan village in Tambak.
Meanwhile, the flood disaster in Cilacap, a regency neighboring with Banyumas, has entered its fifth day, on Tuesday, and the waters have not yet receded. Flood waters inundating a number of districts in the western part of Cilacap, such as Bantarsari, Cipari, Kawunganten, Karangpucung, Kedungreja, Majenang, Sidareja and Wanareja, remain high while in the eastern part of the regency, namely in Kroya and Nusawungu districts, the floods have begun to recede.
Until noon on Tuesday, flood waters still submerged Jl. Raya Buntu-Kroya, the regency's main road.
Floodwaters of depths between 20 and 65 centimeters inundated as many as 300 homes in Gandrungmangu district, while at least 150 homes in Pahonjean village in Majenang district were flooded on Tuesday.
Sidareja district suffers the most, as flood waters have submerged at least 2,000 homes in seven villages in the last five days.
BPBD Cilacap head Supriyanto said it had evacuated around 400 residents to temporary shelters in Sidareja district since Monday.
'We also moved a number of residents in eastern Cilacap, especially in Mujur Lor village in Kroya district, to evacuation posts,' said Supriyanto. (dyl/ebf)(+++)
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