More rains hit flood-stricken Indonesian capital

Jakarta, Feb 8: More heavy rains struck Indonesia's capital today, hampering clean-up efforts and piling on misery for hundreds of thousands of people camping under make-shift shelters after days of floods.

However, an official at the Jakarta Flood Crisis centre said the latest flooding was less widespread than in the past week.

The official, Kartawi, added that water levels at sluice gates controlling flows into the largely flat, low-lying city had returned to normal in all cases but one.

The death toll from the floods, Jakarta's worst for at least five years, remained at about 50, the official said, with around 230,000 still displaced.

In the Prumtung cemetery in east Jakarta, hundreds of people were living under tents made of plastic next to gravestones after their homes were flooded, relying on food handouts.

''I've already been here for sevens days with four children,'' said Kusmiah, who uses just one name.

With so many displaced since the floods started late last week, there are concerns about disease and sanitation in the city and its suburbs, home to an estimated 14 million people.

In Kampung Melayu, one of the worst-hit areas, the floods had receded despite the latest rain, although water remained more than 1 metre deep in some places, an official said.

''I still worry that the house floods whenever it rains,'' resident Saniah told Reuters Television, as she tried to clean her kitchen utensils in water collected after recent rain.

The previous flood disaster in 2002 saw widespread looting, but National Police Chief General Sutanto said no looting had occurred this time.

''We have anticipated any eventuality in terms of security and, thank God, nothing like looting has happened,'' Sutanto told the Antara news agency, adding that 14,000 police officers had been dispatched to flood-hit parts of the capital.

Teddy, a resident of Manggarai Bukit Duri in south Jakarta, said he was desperate to leave the shelter he was staying in.

''We are cleaning our house hoping we can sleep in this house tonight,'' he said as he swept mud and debris out of his home with his two brothers.

Officials have been on alert for disease outbreaks. So far, people mainly appear to have been suffering diarrhoea, respiratory infections and skin diseases.

Salimar Salim, deputy head of Jakarta's health agency, said 27,381 people were being treated on Wednesday, according to the Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, losses at manufacturing firms in Jakarta could top 1 trillion rupiah due to the floods, Sofyan Wanandi of the Indonesian Employers Association told the paper.

Shops started reopening in the district of Kelapa Gading as flood water receded, while workers removed mud and other debris from the district's main boulevard.

''The flood was a blow to my business but as an entrepreneur I have to be resilient,'' said Erwin Wijaya, who owns a sports equipment store.

Power supply was also returning to more areas of the city after 2,000 relay stations had been shut at one stage, an official at electricity firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara said.

Reuters

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