Disease fears amid Horrific Jakarta floods
Pastor Dale Morgan
Disease fears amid Horrific Jakarta floods*
Jakarta residents struggle through floodwaters
Huge swathes of the city have been flooded after rivers burst banks
Indonesian officials fear an outbreak of disease could take hold amid
severe flooding in the capital Jakarta, which has already left at least
30 people dead.
"We fear that diarrhoea and dysentery may break out, as well as
illnesses spread by rats," one official said.
More than a third of a million people are thought to have fled their
homes amid Jakarta's worst floods in years, caused by days of torrential
rains.
While floods were said to have receded in some places, more rain is
forecast.
The floods have affected much of the city of at least nine million
people - with estimates of the flooded area ranging between nearly 40%
and 75%.
Apart from those swept away or drowned in the flood waters, a number of
people had been killed by electrocution, Jakarta police spokesman Ketut
Yoga Ana said.
Dr Rustam Pakaya, from the health ministry's crisis centre, said the
unsanitary conditions could cause an outbreak of disease, with fresh
water and electricity services down in many areas.
Make-shift rafts are being used to navigate through flood waters
"People must be careful not to drink dirty water," he warned.
The city was already coping with a surge in cases of dengue fever.
Several days of torrential rain have caused rivers to burst their banks,
sending muddy water up to 3m (10ft) deep into homes and businesses.
Staff manning a key floodgate in the east of the capital said it had
failed and the water flowing in had caused the main canal to burst its
banks.
Hundreds of residents are still holding out on the second floor of their
homes, either trapped or unwilling to move, the BBC's Rebecca Henschke
in Jakarta says.
Many of the homeless are sheltering in schools and mosques.
Medical teams on rubber rafts are working in the worst affected areas of
the city, while thousands of extra police have been deployed to help
with evacuation efforts.
In some parts horse-drawn carts were deployed to rescue people from
their homes.
The government is facing renewed criticism that it could have done more
to prevent this disaster, our correspondent says.
"Obviously the city did not learn anything after the last [heavy
floods], in 2002," the Jakarta Post said, accusing administrators of
delaying the building of a canal to control flooding.
Indonesia's public perils
"The government is awful," said Jakarta resident Augustina Rusli, who
had held out on the upper floor of her house with her 10-month old baby.
"We have a neighbour who is sick with cancer but no one has come to
rescue her," she said.
Jakarta's Governor Sutiyoso brushed off criticism, saying the floods
were a "natural phenomenon".
"There is no point in throwing abuse around," he said. "I was up till
0300 this morning trying to handle the refugees."
The floods are said to be the worst to hit Jakarta for five years.
Officials say there is little prospect of an early improvement in the
situation.
Meteorologists have warned the downpour is likely to continue for
another week, and with heavy rains falling on hilly regions to the
south, more flooding is threatened.
"We expect residents to stay alert because water may rise again and very
fast," said Sihar Simanjuntak, an official monitoring river levels.