JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Just four days after the tsunami devastated homes in Serang in the Indonesian province of Banten, floodwater engulfed two villages in the regency on Wednesday (Dec 26), inundating about 200 homes and displacing 1,818 people.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) attributed the 1m-deep floodwater to the Cikalumpang River, which overflowed as a result of heavy rain.

“No fatalities have been recorded. Personnel from the agency’s Serang office along with the TNI (Indonesian Military) and National Police are relocating residents and providing necessities,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a release.

Dr Sutopo said Serang was among regencies in the province prone to natural disasters, including floods, drought and earthquakes.

“Any development (in Serang)should take into account the disaster hazard map during the spatial planning,” he said.

The authorities and volunteers continued their search for missing people on Wednesday, with at least 154 people thought to have been swept away by the tsunami, which was triggered by the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. The tsunami struck coastal areas of Lampung and Banten last Saturday evening, killing at least 430 and injuring more than 1,400 people.

“We have also started cleaning the area of tsunami debris,” Dr Sutopo said.

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