4 yıl önce

Massive floods kill several in Indonesia's capital

At least five people have been killed after Jakarta was struck by torrential rains over the weekend, which flooded dozens of major roads and forced hundreds of people to rush to emergency shelters.

AFP

A man looks over the damage to a shop in Kemang in Jakarta on February 21, 2021, a day after parts of Indonesia's capital were inundated with flooding from seasonal heavy rains.

At least five people have been killed in the severe floods that submerged entire neighbourhoods in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, authorities said, as residents returned to clean their homes and salvage belongings.

A 67-year-old man was found dead after he became trapped in his waterlogged house in the badly hit southern part of the capital on Saturday, Jakarta disaster mitigation agency head Sabdo Kurnianto told AFP.

He added that three boys died after being swept away by the floods, and one girl drowned.

More rains expected

Indonesia's meteorological agency warned that Greater Jakarta - a region of around 30 million people that is regularly hit by floods in the rainy season - can expect more heavy downpours next week.

"The river overflowed and brought a lot of mud... I have suffered great financial loss," said Ali Fatullah, a fruit seller in the town of Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta.

He said furniture and electronic devices were damaged by the water.

Kurnianto said some 1,700 people remained in shelters, though many residents had started returning to their homes.

Floodwaters had hit 200 neighbourhoods in the region, and 40 were still under at least one foot of water on Sunday.

Jakarta saw some of its deadliest floods in years in January last year after downpours that also triggered landslides.

At least 67 people in the capital and nearby cities were killed in that disaster.

SOURCE: AFP