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  Channel NewsAsia 3 Feb 07
Five feared dead, 100,000 displaced by floods in Indonesian capital

Antara 3 Feb 07
Jakarta flooded due to lack of water catchment areas: minister

Channel NewsAsia 2 Feb 07
Floods paralyse Indonesian capital

 Business Times Singapore 3 Feb 07
Worst floods in 5 years hit Jakarta

(JAKARTA) Two days of severe rains caused the worst flooding in five years in the Indonesian capital yesterday, washing into thousands of homes and forcing residents to flee, witnesses and officials said.

Filthy storm water inundated markets, hospitals and businesses as people used inflatable rafts to retrieve their belongings from houses. Water was four metres deep in some places in Jakarta, home to some 12 million.

With many of the city's roads inaccessible, commuters spent several hours in gridlock trying to get to work. Many were unable to reach the central business district and returned home.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reportedly working from home.

Sutiyoso, the governor of Jakarta, put the entire city on emergency alert, with the worst-hit areas in the west on the highest warning level.

City officials said almost 80 districts faced serious flooding with more rain forecast. Electricity was cut to more than 22,000 subscribers in downtown Jakarta and tap water was also shut off in some areas as a safety precaution due to possible pollution.

'It has not been this bad since 2002', when the Presidential Palace in the upscale Menteng area flooded, said Anom Nurcahyo of Jakarta's Flood Crisis Center, adding that it wasn't clear if water levels will get higher.

Nearly 40 cm of rain fell overnight, submerging inner-city slum areas near swollen rivers and middle-class housing complexes on the city's outskirts, sending thousands to higher ground or the second floor of their homes.

There were no reports of casualties due to the floods, a yearly occurrence in the city during the peak of the rainy season. A meteorologist forecast continued downpours for the next two weeks. - AP, AFP

Channel NewsAsia 2 Feb 07
Floods paralyse Indonesian capital

JAKARTA - Floods blocked roads and railways in Jakarta and thousands of people abandoned their homes in low-lying areas as torrential downpours virtually paralysed the Indonesian capital Friday.

Streets normally jammed with traffic were much quieter as floods brought public transport to a near-standstill, preventing many people from getting to work or school.

"I have been waiting for my bus for almost an hour. They are very few and far between and, when it comes, it is packed," said Hana, waiting in Kampung Melayu bus terminal for a bus to her office in central Jakarta.

Floods more than a metre (three feet) deep have forced thousands of people to flee homes in lower- lying areas and districts along river banks following heavy rains that have lashed the capital since Wednesday.

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers were cooking and delivering food to people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering on the side of streets. "We opened a public kitchen on Wednesday in East Jakarta for 2,300 people and in South Jakarta for 4,500 people," Indra from the Red Cross crisis centre told AFP.

The key M. H. Thamrin highway, which runs north to south through the city, was flooded up to half a metre, causing traffic jams.

State news agency Antara reported the main toll road connecting the capital with the city of Bogor was blocked with Jakarta-bound traffic forced to turn back 13 kilometres (eight miles) from the capital. The main toll road connecting Jakarta and Tangerang was also closed and most train services were cancelled or running very infrequently.

Many people who work in the capital live in nearby Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok. The Meteorology and Geophysics office said Jakarta could expect still more rain over the next few days. - AFP/ir

Channel NewsAsia 3 Feb 07
Five feared dead, 100,000 displaced by floods in Indonesian capital

JAKARTA: Five people were feared killed in floods in Jakarta with 100,000 others forced to camp out at roadsides and in emergency shelters after days of torrential downpours, officials said on Saturday.

With more rain forecast, disaster officials said they were struggling to cope. Hundreds of troops and navy personnel equipped with inflatable boats and rafts were deployed to help the capital's worst-hit areas.

"We have done the optimum effort to evacuate people but because of the number and the vast area to cover we hope people understand (the problems we are facing)," Sugeng Triutomo from the national disaster management body told ElShinta radio.

About 100,000 people had been displaced by the rainy-season floods, the state Antara news agency reported, citing disaster management body figures. Five people were feared dead, including a 20-year-old man who was electrocuted after a tree fell on a power line, an East Jakarta crisis centre officer told AFP.

"We have received reports of at least four other people washed away by the floods but have not recovered the bodies," he said.

Hundreds of families were seen huddled together by roads in higher areas after fleeing their flooded homes in the city, which is criss-crossed by 13 rivers.

Waters up to two metres (more than six feet) submerged areas of the city, including the upmarket Kelapa Gading housing complex in the north, which is usually less prone to flooding.

"I had to put my motorcycle in the university out there and walk in the floods to my house last night (Friday)," Kelapa Gading resident Najmi said. "The water in front of my house is about one metre. We have been trapped here since yesterday morning," he told AFP.

Several other Kelapa Gading residents called ElShinta, saying some old people and pregnant women were trapped in their houses and needed evacuation. Water, electricity supplies and telecommunications have been cut in several areas of the city due to the floods.

Search and rescue workers and nurses in inflatable boats were offering medical help to flood victims along the main Ciliwung River, Hadianto, head of the independent Jakarta Rescue group said.

"Areas that we go to are very far from the reach of cars. We have to hop from roof to roof of people's houses," he told AFP.

Hadianto said the main complaints so far were diarrhoea and skin problems, with children and old people suffering the most. Indonesian Red Cross and other volunteers were cooking and delivering food to the thousands of people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering at the side of roads.

City water control officials warned that the floods could worsen, with continuing rains in nearby Bogor city expected to exacerbate the situation by nightfall.

"Katulampa watergate is 70 centimetres (28 inches) above normal and the water level is rising," a Jakarta water control officer told AFP, referring to the main sluice gate controlling the flow of water from Bogor, which is at a higher elevation.

More rain was forecast in Jakarta and surrounding areas over the weekend, a meteorologist from the meteorology and geophysics office told AFP.

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar blamed the floods on excessive construction in water catchment areas, Antara reported.

"There are too many malls in the capital city," he said. Witoelar said many developers had not paid enough attention to the ecological impact of construction projects.

Old Batavia, the former colonial port under the Dutch from where Jakarta has expanded, was built on marshland. Certain areas of the capital are below sea level and have weak drainage, with major tides slowing down the outflow of rainwater.

In 2002, floods killed as many as 40 Jakartans and some 300,000 were forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries. - AFP/so

Antara 3 Feb 07
Jakarta flooded due to lack of water catchment areas: minister

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said Jakarta was flooded mainly due to the elimination of water catchment areas following the construction of buildings in great numbers.

"There are too many malls (shopping centers) in the capital city," the minister said. According to the minister, many developers had not paid serious attention to the ecological impact of their projects and contructed buildings recklessly in water catchment areas.

Among other factors causing floods was people's low awareness of the importance of conserving forests, the minister said, adding that therefore they should help stop deforestation to reduce floods which always hit the Indonesian people, including those living in the capital city, almost every year.

In addition, he said, people should increase their awareness of disposing of waste into the proper places.

Floods have been inundating a number of areas in Jakarta since Thursday and paralyzed various activities and public facilitities.

The natural disaster had also displaced thousands of Jakartans to several refugee camps as their houses were inundated following incessant rains since Thursday.
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