Floods submerge 1,000 ha of rice fields in Kulon Progo

Floods submerged 1,000 hectares of rice fields in five sub-districts in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta special autonomous province.

"There are 1,000 hectares of rice fields that have been flooded. The floods have begun to subside since Saturday. Panjatan sub-district is the worst hit by flooding," Sasongko, head of the agriculture office of Yogyakarta, said here, Sunday.

Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X has instructed the district administration to compensate farmers who have lost their paddies if they are not covered by insurance.

The Sultan has extended the period of natural disaster emergency response status for two weeks, beginning Dec 6. Earlier, the emergency status was declared on Nov 29 until Dec 5, 2017.

Yogyakarta has declared an emergency alert status following natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, and whirlwinds, that hit the region. The

The National Meteorological, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency had reported that extreme weather will continue for three days, but Yogyakarta has declared an emergency status for a week, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, the governor of Yogyakarta, stated here, Wednesday.

The decision to declare the emergency status was taken during a coordination meeting on disaster mitigation attended by officials of the Yogyakarta disaster mitigation office.

By declaring the emergency status, district and provincial authorities could use the reserve funds for disaster mitigation efforts.

The severe weather has been triggered by the Cempaka dan Dahlia tropical cyclones.

The Yogyakarta finance office has allocated Rp14 billion for disaster mitigation efforts.

According to data from Yogyakarta city`s disaster mitigation office, landslides hit nine locations and whirlwinds also affected nine locations, claiming the lives of three residents.

In Kulon Progo, 20 locations were hit by whirlwinds, 27 by landslides, and six by floods, affecting 58 people, injuring three, and leading to two others going missing

Source: ANTARA