They had gone missing since Saturday after being swept away by floodwaters.
Bekasi, West Java (ANTARA News) - Four elementary school students were found dead on Monday after being swept away by floods in South Tambun, Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday.

"The victims have been identified by their names as Agung, 13, Gilang Maulana, 13, Fajar Ricon, 14, and Gilar Satria Nugroho, 14. They were residents of Sasak Tiga Kampong, Tridaya Sakti village, South Tambun," stated First Adjunct Inspector W Kartawijaya of the Tambun police office, here on Monday.

They had gone missing since Saturday after being swept away by floodwaters.

Parts of Bekasi have been hit by floods since the past few days following incessant downpours in the current rainy season.

The Bekasi administration now needs Rp600 billion as funds to normalize several rivers in the district.

The chairman of the PAN faction of the Bekasi legislative council, Daeng Muhammad, noted that the funds should be allocated by the local administration and the central government.

He referred to a similar project to normalize Citarum River that needs Rp1.7 trillion in funds.

Rivers in Bekasi are in a critical condition and cannot accommodate rain water any more, and open spaces have been converted into residential and industrial areas, he explained.

In Cibitung Sub-district, Bekasi District, thousands of houses have been flooded following incessant heavy rains since Sunday morning. The floodwaters reached a height of up to two meters submerging housing complexes such as Mustika Wanasari, Kartika Wanasari, Villa Wanasari, Regency and Grama Puri.

Meanwhile, heavy floods inundated as many as 146 villages in 25 sub districts in Karawang, West Java, following heavy rainfall over the region in the last several days.

On Monday, Head of Karawang Social Affairs and Disaster Mitigation Office Rochuyun A. Santosa stated that the floods have become an overwhelming disaster as 25 out of the 30 sub districts in Karawang have been inundated.

The torrential rains have continued to pound several villages for the last several past days, thereby causing some major rivers to overflow.

"The rivers are Citarum, Cibeet, and Cilamaya. Some medium-sized rivers also overflowed and caused flooding," Rochuyun pointed out. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014