REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MALANG -- Flash floods triggered by incessant rains have hit Malang, causing landslides and cutting off road access between Malang and Kediri over the past few days.

"The water from the overflowing Konto river in the Tretes Ngepre hamlet inundated the Pujon-Ngantang road and paralyzed traffic. The road access from Malang to Kediri has been cut off temporarily," the head of the Information and Data Center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said in a written statement here Saturday.

The flash floods hit the Ngantang village, Pujon subdistrict of Malang, East Java, on Friday night at 07:32 pm local time.

One bridge connecting the Kedungrejo hamlet and the Bendosari village has collapsed, cutting off access to both regions.

One machinery operator is believed to be missing, and is suspected of being swept away by the strong waters while repairing heavy machinery on the banks of the river.

The flood waters also cut off road access to Batu-Pujon and caused the main bridge at the border of Pujon and Ngantang to collapse, crippling transportation between Kediri and Jombang, Nugroho noted.

The incessant rains also triggered landslides in some villages in the Pujon subdistrict, with around 10 meters of soil burying the road connecting Pujon to Ngantang. The traffic on that road is managed by an `open and close' system.

In addition, some parts of the north coast route (Pantura) of Surabaya-Banyuwangi were inundated by the flash floods from the Ringgit Mount in the Situbondo district, Nugroho said.

"At least 1,100 family heads were affected by the flood," he added.

The authorities are still searching for the missing victims from the Jombang landslide.

Twelve people were found dead, while two people were rescued. Another two people are believed to be buried under the landslide.

The Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency has predicted that heavy rains will hit the north-eastern Java region in February.

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