"We call on residents living in river basin areas to be on the high alert."Lebak (ANTARA News) - Floods hit nine sub-districts in Lebak district, Banten province, on Wednesday as a number of rivers overflowed following heavy rains overnight.
"Up till now we are evacuating residents from flood-hit areas where the water level reaches 70 cm to 2 m deep," the day-to-day chief of the Lebak district natural disaster mitigation board, Muklis said on Wednesday.
By Wednesday afternoon, at least 1,850 houses were flooded and one person was killed, he said.
Muklis said he was waiting for reports from volunteers and officers in the field about the impact of the floods.
The number of flooded houses might run into tens of thousands as the floods had yet to subside, he said.
A number of rivers, including Ciujung, Ciberang, Cisimeut, Cilemer, Cilangkahan and Cibinuangeun overflowed their banks on Wednesday following heavy rains overnight.
The nine affected sub-districts include Rangkasbitung, Kalanganyar, Cibadak, Cimarga, Wanasalam, Banjarsari, Gunungkencana, and Lebak Gedong.
The floods forced thousands of residents of affected areas to flee to higher ground due to high rainfalls.
"We call on residents living in river basin areas to be on the high alert," he said.
The floods began to inundate the houses at around 02.00 a.m. on Wednesday, he said.
The board is cooperating with the Indonesian military, the health service and the Indonesian Red cross in controlling the impact of the floods, he said.
In addition, it also set up a number of disaster command posts, equipped with evacuation and rescue means including life belts, tents, rubber boats and motor vehicles.
(Uu.S012/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
