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Flooding in Jakarta forces 90,000 to evacuate

Residents carry their belongings through flood water in Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. Heavy rains in Jakarta killed at least three people as a second day of flooding in the Indonesian capital caused thousands of residents to evacuate. PHOTO: EPA

Three people have been killed and nearly 90,000 forced to evacuate their homes in the Indonesian capital because of heavy floods, officials said yesterday.

The health ministry said 88,261 people had abandoned flooded homes in Jakarta, where heavy rain also forced the international airport to close for about six hours on Friday.

"A three-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man drowned yesterday [Friday]. Another woman, 50, was also killed but we don't know what the cause is," an officer from the national disaster management center Setyo said.

At least 10 people died in two landslides on Sumatra and Sulawesi islands, with more victims buried alive, officials said on Friday.

The floods brought traffic in parts of Jakarta to almost a complete standstill and part of the road to the airport was submerged under 70cm of water yesterday, a traffic officer said.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which hits its peak from December to February.

Torrential rains across parts of Java at the start of last month triggered landslides and floods that killed more than 100 people and displaced tens of thousands.
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