UPDATE: 340,000 Flee Flooded Indonesia Capital
Pastor Dale Morgan
Feb 4, 7:53 PM EST
*UPDATE: 340,000 Flee Flooded Indonesia Capital*
By IRWAN FIRDAUS
Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Boats ferried supplies to desperate residents
of Indonesia's flood-stricken capital on Sunday as rivers burst their
banks following days of rain. At least 20 people have been killed and
almost 340,000 forced from their homes, officials said.
Hundreds of people scrambled to the second floors of their houses to
escape the rising waters. Some found themselves trapped, while others
refused to leave despite warnings that the muddy flood waters - running
over 13 feet deep in places - may rise further in the coming days.
"Jakarta is now on the highest alert level," said Sihar Simanjuntak, an
official who monitors the many rivers that crisscross this city of 12
million people. "The floods are getting worse."
Indonesia's meteorological agency is forecasting two weeks of rain.
The government dispatched medical teams on rubber rafts into the
worst-hit districts to prevent outbreaks of disease among residents
without clean drinking water.
Edi Darma, an official at Jakarta's Flood Crisis Center, said 20 people
had died in Jakarta and surrounding towns as of late Sunday, mostly
either by drowning or electrocution.
Survivors told of being stranded by the surging waters. "We were
starving for two days," said Sri Hatyati, who was rescued from her house
by soldiers on a dinghy Sunday on the city's western outskirts. "All we
had were dried noodles. We were unable to go anywhere."
Incessant rain that starting falling Thursday on Jakarta and the hills
south of the city triggered the floods, the worst in recent memory. Tens
of thousands of homes, school and hospitals - in poor and wealthy
districts alike - were inundated.
Authorities have cut off electricity and the water supply in many districts.
Dr. Rustam Pakaya, from the health ministry's crisis center, said nearly
340,000 people had been forced from their homes. He said many of the
homeless were staying with friends or family or at mosques and
government buildings.
"We fear that diarrhea and dysentery may break out, as well as illnesses
spread by rats," Pakaya said. "People must be careful not to drink dirty
water."
There was little rainfall over Jakarta on Sunday, but downpours over the
southern hills caused rivers to swell across the city, prompting
authorities to open flood gates.
An Associated Press photographer saw Red Cross officials ferrying water
and food to people downtown who were cut off by the floods in downtown
districts. TV footage showed people standing on roofs, and cars overturned.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who was criticized when the city was flooded
five years ago, blamed deforestation in Puncak, saying it had destroyed
water catchment areas.
Environment Minister Racmat Witoelar blamed poor urban planning.
Authorities issue building permits "even though they clearly violate
environmental impact studies," Witoelar said, according to The Jakarta Post.
Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year
in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands, where millions
of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile plains.
Jakarta is regularly struck with floods, though not on the scale as in
recent days. Dozens of slum areas near rivers are washed out each year.
Some residents refuse to move, others say they cannot afford to live
elsewhere.