Indonesia floods: At least 30 dead as thousands return to ravaged homes
Thousands are homeless and at least 30 are dead in Jakarta after severe weather paralyses the capital city.
Thursday 2 January 2020 17:54, UK
Landslides and severe flooding in Indonesia's capital have killed at least 30 people and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes.
At least 182 neighbourhoods in greater Jakarta were left underwater after being hit by monsoon rains, while landslides have hammered the Bogor and Depok districts on the outskirts of the city.
Governor Anies Bawesdan said much of the water had receded by Thursday evening, allowing thousands of people to return to their homes, but the death toll has jumped from 17 to 30.
More than 31,000 people had been moved to temporary shelters after flooding rose as high as 2.5m in some areas.
There are now only about 5,000 people still in the shelters, but those who have gone back home have found their streets covered in mud and debris, with cars swept away from driveways and parked up in narrow alleyways.
Shoes, pots, pans and other household items are strewn across pavements in areas were the water has receded.
Electricity has also been restored to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
At their peak, the floods had inundated thousands of homes and buildings, forced authorities to cut off electricity and water and paralysed transport networks, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusumah domestic airport was also affected, as it was forced to temporarily shut when the runway flooded, impacting nearly 20,000 passengers.
The government deployed medical teams and rafts to the worst-hit areas, and emergency food supplies were sent by rescuers in boats for those remaining on the upper floors of their homes.
It was the worst flooding since 2013, when 47 people were killed after Jakarta was inundated by monsoon rains.
Jakarta is home to 10 million people, with the population expanding to 30 million when including those in its greater metropolitan area.
President Joko Widodo announced last year that the capital will move to a site in East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, as the current location has begun to sink after uncontrolled extraction of ground water.
Jakarta is also prone to earthquakes and flooding, with Mr Widodo previously blaming flooding on damage to the ecosystem and ecology, as well as litter in the rivers.