ZCZC
BFF-18
INDONESIA-FLOOD
Five dead, three missing after Jakarta floods
JAKARTA, Feb 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Five people were killed, three more are
missing and thousands are unable to return to their waterlogged homes after
floods submerged parts of Indonesia’s capital, officials said Wednesday.
The muddy deluge inundated the presidential palace, a major hospital and
entire neighbourhoods across Jakarta on Tuesday, only weeks after 70
residents of the low-lying megacity died in some of the deadliest flooding in
memory.
Two teenagers were among the five people drowned or electrocuted in hard-
hit parts of the city, Indonesia’s national disaster agency said.
“The joint rescue team is still searching” for three other possible
victims, agency spokesman Agus Wibowo told AFP, adding that nearly 20,000
people were staying in emergency shelters.
Floodwaters reached more than a metre (three feet) in some parts of the
capital but were receding by Wednesday, a day after rescuers combed drenched
districts in pontoon boats to locate vulnerable residents.
Parts of the city had ground to a halt as thousands of buildings were
swamped, sparking power outages and disrupting commuter trains.
Jakarta, a sprawling city beleaguered by massive traffic jams and poor
infrastructure, is prone to flooding during the annual wet season.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo last year unveiled plans to relocate the
capital to an as yet unbuilt city on Borneo island.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1400 hrs