15,000 residents displaced by floods in Indramayu, West Java

Jakarta, March 17 (Antara) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated that around 15,000 residents were displaced due to floods in Indramayu District, West Java Province. Head of Data and Information Center of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a broadcast message here Tuesday said that the floods hit the region because the dikes of Cimanuk River in Pilangsari Village, Jatibarang Subdistrict and Tulungagung Village, Kertasemaya Subdistrict, Indramayu District, were broken down on Monday (March 16) at 03.00 am local time. "However, the floods began to recede. The water level was reaching 50-300 cm high, now it's subsiding to 30-150cm," Nugroho said. Floods are affecting seven subdistricts in Indramayu namely Jatibaran, Kertasmaya, Loh Bener, Bangodua, Sindang, Tukdana, and Pesekan. Jatibarang and Kertasemaya were the most affected by the flood with water level reaching three meters high. Thousands of residents houses and around 100 hectares of rice fields were inundated due to the floods, Nugroho said. "Floods has also cut the main road access on Java's northern coastal highway (pantura) in Indramayu," Nugroho said. Road travelers heading Jakarta to Cirebon, were diverted to Karangampel, as the flood inundated roads in Jatibarang.