Indonesian floods close airport, cause landslides
INDONESIA: Seasonal flooding in Indonesia has inundated hundreds of
houses, forced the closure of a regional airport and triggered
landslides that killed at least two people, officials said Monday.
Dozens of flights to Semarang in central Java were canceled Monday
after the main runway was submerged, said provincial spokesman Achyani.
It was unclear how long the airport would remain closed because heavy
rainfall caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy continued to lash the city of
1.3 million, said Bambang Suastono, the general manager of Semarang
airport.
Railways and roads were submerged by up to 3 feet (1 meter) of water,
cutting major transportation links, said Achyani, who like many
Indonesians uses a single name.
Two people died Sunday in landslides, one near Semarang and a second
in west Java, officials said.
Riverbanks overflowed Monday morning in Jakarta, the capital, forcing
hundreds into emergency tent shelters, said Edi Darma, a Disaster
Management Agency spokesman. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000
islands, is hit by deadly storms and floods that kill scores of people
every year.
More than 200 people died in January when a ferry sank in the
treacherous Makassar Strait off Sulawesi island after being hit by high
waves.
Jakarta, Monday, AP |