Madiun (ANTARA News) - Big floods flowing down the slope of Mount Willis hit three villages in the regency of Madiun, East Java , following heavy rain on Thursday until early Friday.

The villaqe of Ngadirejo, in sub-district of Wonoasri and the villages of Dimong and Tulungrejo in the sub-district of Madiun were put under water up to 1 meter deep.

Purwanto, a Ngadirejo villager said the water streaming down Mount Willis suddenly caused the Wuluh river to overflow its banks sending swelling water to nearby villages.

"All of a sudden the water swelled and inundated the roads and villages, filling houses with water as high as 50 centimeter from the floor," Purwanto said .

The people were panicked and hurriedly moving their goods to a higher places, he added.

"This is the biggest flooding we have ever seen hitting our village," he said.

The people are still braving for more flooding as the rainy season has just began.

An official of the regency of Madiun, Didik Setyanto, said there are 40 houses inundated by the flooding.

The flooding, however, began to recede on Friday morning, Didik said, adding flooding has hit the sub-districts of Madiun and Balerejo every year.

The district authorities have inspected the areas and offered aid for the people.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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