by Mathias Hariyadhi

After five days of rain, the city is returning to normal but hundreds of people are still sitting on the roofs of their homes, waiting for aid to reach them. Around 430,000 people have been displaced.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – After five days of incessant rains that left more than 430,000 people displaced and at least 50 dead, Jakarta seems to have returned to normal. In recent days floods completely paralyzed the city that saw its schools, mosques and government offices turned into impromptu reception centres. Most of the Indonesian capital is covered by mud and rubble, electricity is available only in some areas and telephone lines are out of order.

Many residents are still waiting to be rescued, sitting on the roofs of their homes that have been submerged by three metres of water. More than 400 families from Kampung, Melayu, east Jakarta, have transferred to the school of St Mary. Another 400 in Cileduk Indah and Wisma Tajur are still stranded amid the water.

After the weather cleared two days ago, heavy rain struck the region of Cileduk again yesterday. The damage is greatest here: “On Monday, after I saw the sun, I started to clean up the house with my family,” said Suryadi, a catholic teacher in Pondok Mahrta. “But yesterday it was flooded again and this time it was worse.” Cileduk is completely cut off: the roads linking it to Jakarta and other outlying suburbs are all out of order. Rivers have overflowed, flooding communication channels and rubble is hindering travel. Means of public transport have also been suspended for a few days: the train lines Jakarta-Bogor and Jakarta- Bekasi, for example, are out of order.

Experts say the recent floods are far worse than those registered in 2002: the stricken area is larger and the damage more severe. Indonesia has not made any request for international aid to deal with the emergency. Anyhow the European Commission has promised to dispatch 775,000 dollars and the United States will give 100,000. Holland has offered 1.3 million dollars. Official Indonesian sources estimate the damage caused by the floods to be worth around 452 million dollars.

Meteorologists have warned of possible further torrential outbursts while environmentalists are pointing to deforestation and rampant construction expansion as the causes of the disaster.

• INDONESIA
• JAKARTA
• floods
• rains
• disasters
• natural
• economy