World Vision Indonesia relief team has completed the distribution of 750 packages and 300 baby kits for families in Centini and Duri Kulon villages in Laren sub district, in Lamongan, East Java.

The villages are among areas hardest-hit by the East Java flooding, which has left more than 130 people dead or missing. The landslides and floods were triggered by days of heavy seasonal rains, which sent mud down into villages in hilly areas of Java.

Most of the dead were from landslides in two districts of Central Java.

The relief packages consist of cleaning kits, tarpaulines and blankets, while the baby kits, designed for children under five, include kajuput oil, soap and baby/children's blankets.

A WV assessment team visited flooded Bojonegoro and Lamongan districts on January 2. The areas were inundated by the overflowing Solo River, the largest river in Java. The flooding is worse than in previous years because some of the dams crumbled following heavy rains in Solo area in Central Java province, the source of the river.

"In Lamongan, several villages were severely flooded when we visited the area," said Fadli Usman, one of the assessment team members. "We heard that some 8,600 houses were inundated and out of this number some 6,600 houses were in one village."

In the severely flooded areas, the flood water reached between one and two metres, Fadli said. "They need cleaning kits as the flood water carried a large amount of mud into the houses."

The distribution will continue with 400 packages for flood survivors in Bojonegoro, East Java.

Contacts: For more information, please contact: WV Indonesia HEA/Relief Director Jimmy Nadapdap - Mobile: +62-818471074; +62-81362412321 WV Indonesia Communicator Hendro Suwito - Mobile: +62-811997762