REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KARAWANG -- The Karawang district administration in West Java has declared a state of emergency following floods that affected 25 sub-districts in the past few days.

"Karawang is in a state of emergency for 14 days starting January 19," Karawang district head H. Ade Swara said in a press statement released on Tuesday.

He expressed hope that the district disaster coordination unit (Satkorlak) personnel would always be on standby after the district had been put under a state of emergency.

The Satkorlak command post in Karawang is centered at the social service and disaster mitigation office. The post is open around the clock.

Tens of thousands of houses at 146 villages in Karawang have been flooded over the past few days after a number of rivers overflowed their banks due to heavy rainfall.

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

The torrential rains have continued to pound several villages for past few 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.

Water ranging between 50cm to two meters in height inundated thousands of houses. Thousands hectares of paddy fields were also flooded.

Ade Swara said the district government had sent relief aid to all flood-hit villages.

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