At least 23 people have been confirmed dead and thousands forced to evacuate, after severe flooding hit Indonesia’s capital.
Tens of thousands of revellers in Jakarta who were celebrating the New Year frestivities, were soaked by torrential rains as they waited for New Year’s eve fireworks on Wednesday.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said on Wednesday that monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 90 neighbourhoods and triggered a landslide in Kota Depok, a city on the outskirts of Jakarta.
Wibowo said the dead included a 16-year-old high school student who was electrocuted while more than 19,000 people were in temporary shelters after floodwaters reached up to three metres (10 feet) in several places.
Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan told reporters after conducting an aerial survey over the flooded city that as much as 370 millimetres (14.5 inches) of rainfall – more than three times the average amount – was recorded in Jakarta and West Java’s hilly areas during the New Year’s eve, resulting in the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers overflowing.
